Project: Advancement
by koa
Summary: Firestarter Sequel. The Shop has begun to experiment on teenagers. This is my first fanfic, so read and review. Volume 2 Chapter 22 is now up. Hope you like it. Volume ii is now done. Volume III Chapter 2 now up!
1. Volume 1, Starters Chapter 1

Voice Notes of Professor Coburn: Project Advancement

_Project Advancement: April 20__th__ 2006_

_We have begun to gather test subjects. This project shows much promise. It must for if it fails it means the end of the New Shop. The subjects are being placed in a sleep state until they have all been gathered and readied for the first stages. Now I must go, for there is much work to be done._

_Project Advancement: May 8__th__ 2006_

_The subjects have all been gathered. There is much hope for this project. We have concluded that the trials must be done on the adolescent type body. The college age subjects of the last attempt were too fully developed to accept the infusion. The one semi success was too young and held too much power. The type of infusion necessary, however, is still unknown. We have expanded beyond just mind stimulants. There are various types to be tried. We will succeed._

Chapter 1

Katie

"Ahhh!" With a horrible jolt of pain, Katie woke up. Her initial thought was 'where am I?' but the immense headache she had was too much for her. She leaned back and felt a metallic coolness on her back. After a while she felt calmer. Now that she could focus more on what was going on, she realized that she was in some sort of cage. It was pretty big, but empty except for a cot and a small enclosed bathroom like area. Outside her own cage she could see others in similar situations. All of them were kids about her age. She tried to stand up, but the energy from that simple act was enough for another headache to seize her once again. She fell back and sat there, waiting for something to happen.

Valentine

Valentine's eyes shot open and he was on his feet almost instantly. He had no idea what was going on and he was filled with a sense of fear that came from not knowing who or where he was. After a while he calmed down and told himself, " I'm Valentine. I'm…" but he still had no idea where he was. He was shocked with what he saw, though. Kids in cages. A lot of them. Next to the cage he was in was a girl hunched over with her head in her hands. He tried to say something to her but his mouth was dry. His attempt at speech came out as a raspy painful moan so he gave it up. She didn't seem to notice him anyway. On the other side of him were countless other cages. He took in a deep breath and smelled the over-clean smell that reminded him of hospitals. What kind of place is this? His mouth seemed to get drier. He traced the inside with his tongue and found gaps in his teeth. He began to pace and, doing so, he found 3 teeth.

Danny

"Ow." Danny had been having the craziest dream when he fell off of his bed. Except—this wasn't his bed…. Or his room… what? around him he saw kids all of who had faces of fear and confusion. Across from his cage, there was an older boy pacing his cage. Danny thought hard back to the last thing that he could remember. He had been… somewhere… on the street… suddenly overhead the lights flickered and eventually turned off above his cage.

Ricky

"Please. Stop it! Please!" This was what awoke Ricky. He was in a huge room filled with cages and kids. Some of them were asleep—or unconscious. The ones that were awake were looking at a boy who seemed to be going crazy. He was ranting and shouting. As he ran around his cage the sprinklers overhead went off and water flew. It went everywhere, and that was when they saw their first adult. Questions filled the room. He wore a white lab coat and looked to be in his mid 30's, and although he was being barraged by so many questions, he answered none. He only stepped in to the boy's cage and as he did something the boy collapsed. He then dragged him away amidst shouts and cries.

Kyle.

Kyle woke up panicked. He looked around with a frenzy he had never experienced before, but within seconds he was left without energy and lacking hope. As he collapsed on a cot he saw a boy looking just the same in a cage across from him. As the man in the lab coat came out he went through a myriad of emotions and afterwards he was left with a headache and wonder about what happened.

Jennifer

Its too quiet. She had been awake for a while now and still there was no movement from anywhere in the room. A few feet over the only other human she'd seen, lay sleeping. That or dead. She was getting frustrated, kicking and shouting at the bars that wouldn't listen. As she let loose a kick to the bars the one she hit melted. She stood back and heard the girl next to her finally speak.

Alicia

Alicia looked up after she heard a loud gasp. She was in a cage and next to it was another with a girl in it. "What are you doing?" she asked as she saw the remains of what seemed to be a bar. Then she quickly replaced that question with another. "Where am I?" Then a burst of flame appeared in the cage next to her. "Ahhh!" she screamed and heard the other girl tell her to get away from the fire but as quickly as it appeared it went away. She lay on the floor in shock and fear.


	2. Volume 1, Starters Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Firestarter is the property of stephen king and such. So are any characters from it that may appear in this. Any other characters however are mine. Mine! MINE!!! ...yeah...

_Project: Advancement May 11__th__ 2006_

_There have been complications. We have lost a third of our subjects. Many others are in weak conditions. This is bad; however, a few have shown signs of good acceptances. Now we must wait. There is nothing else that we can do. _

Chapter 2

Katie

Katie walked into her cage as the guard shut the door behind her. The routine was well known to her by now. She wasn't sure of how long it had been exactly, but long enough to find herself used to this place—or at least as used to it as she could be. In the next cage, Valentine got up and smiled at her as he left his cage with the guard to escort him. She blushed and hated herself for it. It had been weird at first, of course. None of them remembered anything about their lives beyond their names and a few random facts. After a while there had been, and still were, 5 of them. They had no idea what had happened to the others. What they knew was that they were trapped in a facility that the guards and scientists, or whatever they were, called The Shop, they could do nothing, and, maybe most importantly, they had all been changed. The scientists didn't know exactly what their "gifts" were, even though she was quite certain that it was because of something they did to them.

She could move things with her mind. Cool right? Wrong. This was very weak and if she used it too much she was hit with a mega headache. She sighed as she settled into her cot. They were nothing but lab rats. At least she could stand the others. Valentine was—great. He seemed to always be upbeat, and definitely looked great… not that she had noticed. Originally he had been kind of off, but that's almost expected when you lose all your teeth. They grew back though-over and over again. He had been given some kind of shark DNA.

Danny was…14. What else was there to say? He had been given control of electricity. After a while they replaced all his things with solar powered stuff, because it had all been blown up, or fried, or destroyed in some other way. He was pretty nice and stuff, but he could be immature and tended to think of this as all a game.

Ricky was the oldest. His power was insane. He calls it astral- something. He's really calm and very deep, but he's ok. He can be quite funny, but the fact that you never know what he's thinking can be very unnerving.

Kyle has gained control of his power, but… it's not the best one. It's cool though, he seems fine with it. He can levitate and tell what people are thinking. He also gets visions of the future when he touches certain things. He's ok. He's kind of quiet, but when he laughs he really laughs.

So, they were getting along pretty well. They had talked about getting out, but that seemed unlikely, or at least at the time being. Maybe if they could get a better control of their- gifts… maybe then they could try something.

Valentine

As Katie came in, Valentine got up and started for the door of his cage. A guard came up, unlocked the door and escorted him to the Lab. The Lab was the only other room that any of them had ever seen. Inside they had been given various tests and exercises to see exactly what they could do. As they made their way over to the Lab Valentine saw that the guards were wearing a whole new type of protection. It looked kind of clunky, but they probably figured it was necessary. A few days ago he had gone kind of… crazy. He had lost all of his teeth and his nails had become claw-like and very sharp. He had attacked a guard that day. He was better now though. His teeth had grown back and he was getting used to them falling out on occasion.

He casually walked into the Lab. "Hello Valentine," greeted Doctor Coburn. "Hey." It was all the conversation they ever had. He sat down at a table as the doctor would place various items in front of him. Basically, he was expected to shred everything. Now he could shred through a few metals and mostly anything else that wasn't metal. Finally it was time for the obstacle course. A while ago they had realized he had gills that would open when exposed to water. 'Great,' he thought. 'I'm a freak guinea pig.'

Danny

'Concentrate. Concentrate.' Danny had been sitting quietly for what seemed like hours to him. Of course, it had only been a few minutes- a half hour at most. Earlier that day he had sent out a bolt of electricity out of his hand and now he was trying to recreate that experience.

Originally it had seemed like all he would be able to do was turn things on and off from far away-a human remote. Then they realized that he could absorb and transfer electrical energy from one thing to another. Tzzz he gasped as another bolt of electricity escaped his fingers. That's when it hit him. If he thought about any energy that he had absorbed he could send it out. He spent another while trying to send out more electricity but he didn't seem to have anymore in him. Maybe later when he went to the Lab he could bring back some extra electricity with him. He got up and started pacing his cage as he waited for Valentine to come back.

Ricky

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tzzz… Ricky opened an eye and saw Danny staring down at his hands. 'Kid's been sitting still far too long' he thought to himself. He sighed and got up to stretch. He'd been meditating for a while now. When he started to figure out his "gift" it had helped him not only to calm down, but to control it better and to figure out some things about it. He could use his "gift" to tap into the astral plane, which seemed to be an exact duplicate of this world only without any living things. By meditating he was able to boost his gift and enter the astral plane. There he did as he wished. Usually he would practice using his "gift". There was very little else left to do. Outside of the astral plane he could send out balls of astral energy, but they were relatively weak compared to in the astral plane. He could also bring an astral self into this plane, but it wasn't corporeal so he couldn't do anything in this form.

After a few minutes he saw Valentine return and Danny leave for the Lab. Kati and Kyle were both watching a small television overhead. Next to him Valentine started doing pushups. Ricky sighed once more and went back to meditating.

Kyle

As the show ended he closed his eyes. He had been watching Charmed the only thing he actually liked on T.V. It was a small thing and they couldn't change the channel so this was all he could see, but he loved that show. If any good would come of this it was that he had discovered this show. It had to be a coincidence that his "gift" was almost exactly like one of its characters, but that made him like it more. Even though it was a pretty basic thing. He could levitate sense what a person was feeling, and sometimes even see visions of the future. His gifts seem kind of random to him, but it was fine with him. Then he heard, "Show off!" He opened his eyes and saw it had been Katie who shouted. He looked down and saw himself hovering inches from the ground. He gasped and fell down hard enough to make him grunt but not enough to really hurt. "Serves you right!" Kyle sent out his empathic senses and realized that Katie was feeling jealous at his clumsy yet stable show of his "gifts". He felt bad that she couldn't seem to get a better hang of her gifts. "Katie I-" "Forget it. I… have a headache…"

He sat down on his cot feeling guilty. Around him he saw the others. They had all gotten somewhat adapted to this place. Valentine was sharpening his claws at a bar. Ricky sat meditating. Danny. It seemed so wrong to feel so- normal when everything was anything but. He laid back and let his mind drift.


	3. Volume 1, Starters Chapter 3

I didnt mean to seperate this from chapeter 2... so... yeah. Furthermore, Firestarter is still not my property, but please do read and review.

_Project: Advancement May 14__th__ 2006_

_Almost all of the test subjects have…gone. 7 remain, though, and with them lay the hopes of the New Shop. Tomorrow we will begin the Analyzation stage. We'll see then what happens, but if we fail—the lost subjects will be a…problem._

Jennifer

_Smash! Crack! Zzzt! _Jennifer was in the lab, and even though she didn't think that she should, she kind of liked the feeling she got when she used her ability. It was such a rush to have such power. As a thick chunk of metal flew at her she melted it and shaped it into a long and thin rod with a wave of her hand. As she did this a robotic voice went off overhead. "Exercise complete." She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and headed for a small shower room to cool off. On her way there she saw a folder. Left out carelessly. It couldn't really be much she told herself; otherwise would it have been left there? She knew it was probably secret and not for her to see but her curiosity was too much. She looked around to see if there was anyone else there. She was alone. She grabbed it telling herself she would just take a peek. Inside of it she found pages of information about different kids. What scared her however was that she and Alicia were both in it.

When she got back into her cage she held onto the metal bars. They had been replaced with heavy duty titanium which she couldn't get through. 'Yet' she told herself. 'One of these days…' she looked over to the next cage and saw Alicia reading. They were so different from each other, but they were all they had. She remembered how freaked out Alicia had been when they first met. As they first realized what they had been given. Alicia had seemed so fragile. It made Jennifer want to do nothing but protect her, and she would. That's what she had promised Alicia that first night. That no matter what happened she would do her best to keep her safe. Now she debated whether or not she should tell her about the files. The information she had seen seemed- disturbing. She finally decided to talk to her about it. She waited for Alicia to finish reading before starting.

Alicia

She had been reading as she waited for Jennifer to return. She was surprised to find Jennifer after she finished. What's more, she was alone. "Where's the guard?" she asked. "Dr. Coburn said he had to do something so you don't have to go to the Lab today." "Oh…" She sat up and watched Jennifer for a while. She seemed tense. "Are you ok?" she asked. "Yeah… umm… I have to tell you something." Alicia smirked, "Let me guess. You found someone?" "Hah. Actually, I found some_thing_. A file lying about." "You didn't open it did you?" "Well… kind of. But that's not the point. The thing is- I think there are others here besides us." "Others?" "Yeah. The file had information about different kids. We were in it." Alicia slowly allowed herself to absorb the information. If there were others… maybe together they could do something.

"Most of the papers were labeled Terminated. Only seven weren't and we were two." Jennifer continued. "Well what are we going to do?" "I don't know but something is seriously fishy." "Besides the weird doctor who is changing kids into… freaks?" "Alicia…" Jennifer sighed. Alicia felt the exasperation in her voice. "I know…" She had been pretty pessimistic about everything, although she felt she couldn't be blamed for that. "For now," said Jennifer, "let's keep the fact that we know this secret. Maybe we can…" at that point Jennifer started mumbling things to herself. Alicia sat down, not having realized that she stood up. As she sat there she thought about potential others. Maybe they could find them. Maybe they could do something. Maybe.


	4. V1, Starters Chapter 4

It took me a while to post this one because of school and stuff... but, yeah. I still am not the owner of Firestarter, but please read and review

_Project: Advancement May 15__th__ 2006_

_There is new hope. The 7 remaining subjects have made some tremendous advancement. There may be some problems with a few of them, but the success of even one will be invaluable. For now the Analyzation stage continues._

Katie

'Why can't I control this?' she asked herself. She sat gloomily at her cot and pulled a stray hair from in front of her face. She had been making progress as time went by. It had been a week and she could now move most things at least a bit without getting a headache. She had even been able to send her thoughts into peoples mind with enough effort. Anything else besides that, though and she would get hit with a big headache. 'It wasn't fair.' Everyone else seemed leagues ahead of her. The time in the lab had been improving all of their abilities except for her's.

With the type of exercises that everyone else had been doing it was a mystery as to what exactly they were training for. Danny swore that it had to be the military or the government, but Danny was… well, he was Danny. She however, was just trying to move bigger things for longer amounts of time. It was strange though. Dr. Coburn hadn't seemed to care anymore. Before he had been pushing her more and more, but now he had seemingly given up on her. She tried to concentrate at a book on the floor of Kyle's cage. She tried to hold it up as long as possible. If Dr. Coburn was losing interest it could mean anything. She had to get a hold of this. As she felt the oncoming headache she tried to focus and hold it back, but within a few more seconds the book started wavering. Finally it fell with a loud _CLUNK_. Kyle looked up and she felt an odd sensation as he read her emotions. He stared at her for a while and then, realizing what he was doing, he quickly looked down at his hands. She sighed and lay down. She knew she would have trouble sleeping that night with the current headache. She closed her eyes and let herself relax as much as possible trying to deal with the pain.

Valentine

Valentine walked out of the lab as quickly as he could without seeming suspicious. As he walked into his cage and Danny left his, he looked over to Ricky to find that he was meditating. He looked around to see everyone else. Kyle was sitting up in his cot and Katie was laying on hers. Valentine looked around the floor of his own cage and soon found what he was looking for. A tooth. He looked over at Ricky, fully aware of what he was doing and what might happen. The last time anyone had disrupted him in mid-meditation he had come out of it along with a wave of astral energy that had sent them all to the floor.

He picked up the tooth and with one well aimed shot threw it at Ricky hitting him right below the neck. Ricky slowly opened one eye and then the other. "What is it?" he asked in a very annoyed tone. Ricky was almost never angry with anyone, but when he was it was pretty scary. Valentine shushed him and mouthed, "Emergency!" Ricky closed his eyes once again and a moment later his astral form was standing in front of him. Ricky still couldn't send his astral form more than a few feet and even then he wasn't corporeal, but it still came in handy when he wanted privacy. "What is it?" asked Ricky. "It's about Katie. I- I think that they're gonna try and get rid of her." "What? How do you know?" "I overheard Dr. Coburn. He said something about her not being responsive and having to get rid of her." Valentine could see the fear in Ricky's eyes as he sat contemplating. After a few minutes he spoke again, "Well, then we'll just have to get out."

Danny

Danny sat in his cot having just returned from the lab. This time, though, he had brought back some extra energy with him. He looked around to make sure no one was looking, and saw that Ricky had his astral self in Valentine's cage. They were whispering what looked like a very heated argument. Kyle and Kati were both lying in their cots staring at the ceiling. He wanted to make sure that no one would notice what he'd be doing. He hadn't told anyone that he'd been able to send out electricity, not even Dr. Coburn at the lab. He wanted to be sure that he could do it before he told anyone.

As he sat there he started to concentrate on the energy he had absorbed. He focused, trying to summon that energy out into his hands. He sat there, waiting, trying to prove to himself that he could do it. In the background he heard a high squeak followed by whispered hushing. He tried to ignore everything around him. Then it happened again. At first a spark. Then another one. He was about to try to send out more power at once when he heard something. It wasn't really hearing though. More like knowing. The sentence appeared in his mind out of nowhere. _Don't fall asleep tonight. Stay up in bed. Don't ask questions. _'What was that?' he thought to himself. He looked over to Katie's cage and saw that Ricky's astral self was there now, and it looked like Katie had been crying. He realized she'd sent him that message. Had it taken that much strength out of her? Is that why she was crying? Why were they staying up? He had a million questions, but he'd been told to not ask any. So he sat there trying to bring back the electricity, but he couldn't concentrate anymore so he ended up just going to bed. He lay there waiting for whatever he was waiting for. Around him he heard nothing, but the steady breathing of the rest of them- almost synchronized. He lay there, for who knows how long. After a while he started feeling restless. What was happening? What were they doing? Then everything went black.

Ricky

The astral plane was almost like a replica of the normal plane, except that it is completely empty of human life. It can only be accessed by one's astral form. Ricky's power allowed him to access energy from the astral plane, and then bring it out into the normal one. He could also send his astral self out into either the astral plane or the normal one. He had been unsure about whether or not he could bring anyone else into the astral plane with him, but he had to try. There was a lot at stake. If Valentine was right… well, he hoped he wasn't.

In the darkness he lay in his bed, concentrating solely on his breathing. He lay there for a long time; more than he had ever needed to before, but if he wanted to do this he'd have to do it right. He had no idea what would happen if he messed up, and if somehow they found out that they were meeting in secret, things wouldn't be better for Katie. Finally he felt that he was ready. He started to do what he always did, mentally pushing himself out of his body, but this time he pushed harder and tried to mentally push all those around him too. He heard the soft hum that always accompanied his arrival in this plane. This time however, it was followed by a series of other, variously pitched hums, as the others slowly appeared one by one. He sighed with some relief as he realized it had worked. An air of surprise and awe seemed to overcome the others as they realized where it was that they were. He half wanted to do join them in their surprise, but he knew that there were things to be done. He cleared his throat to call everyone to attention.

"Hey, don't forget we have a reason for being here," he started. "Yeah, but some of us still don't know what it is," said Danny. "Valentine will explain everything." He looked over in Valentine's direction passing the baton over. Valentine stood up, grim fear in his face, and once again started to explain what he had overheard. As expected, gasps cam from Kyle and Danny, who had not yet been told about this. In the back Katie let out a stifled groan and tears streaked her face. "We're not going to let this happen are we?" asked Kyle. "Of course not!" Valentine quickly responded. "No!" started Katie, "I can't let you guys do anything that will just get you guys into trouble." "Katie we have to do something," tried Kyle.

Ricky took in the whole long conversation and just when it seemed like it was at its loudest he said, "Well, the way I see it we have only one way out of this. We're going to have to escape."

Kyle

Escape. The thought of it had crossed his mind of course. How could it not? They had these impossible gifts, so why couldn't they? Yet he had never dared to suggest it out loud. It was too risky. He could see a million ways they could be caught and a million and one ways they could be punished. Now this was what Ricky proposed? Could they actually do it? He tuned back into the conversation.

"That's right," said Ricky, "We've seen what we can do with our powers." "But what if they catch us? They're willing to do these experiments on us so what's stopping them from doing worse when we misbehave?" said Katie. "We have to try. Do you really want to spend your life in a cage?" "What if our powers aren't enough?" "We can train here," said Ricky, "watch." And with that he raised an arm up forcefully and the ground started to move up creating a long black wall. "Everything in here is made of astral energy, which I can control," he said. A look of hope struggled to show itself in his face. "We can do this." That's when Valentine stood up. "Ok you guys, we're going to have to do this. That means we need a plan." With that he started to talk about when the best time would be to do this.

Kyle once again started to drift away from the conversation. They were actually gonna do this. As everyone around him started training their power, he put himself into auto pilot. Not really noticing what he was doing. Focusing on what he was thinking. Around him he only half saw the others. Finally he found himself back in his bed. He was tired, and it seemed like he was going to be able to just fall asleep. From the grunt a couple yards over he knew that Danny had. He, however, was restless. He lay in bed, tossing and turning worried for some unknown reason. Finally he shifted into a form of sleep that was anything but helpful. The first time this happened he thought it was some sort of dream. Now he knew better. As he slept he saw himself walking down a long corridor. The lights above flickered, and he looked around seeing the others. They kept walking. Slowly and carefully. As they neared the end of the hall, they stopped at a large set of doors. They were all nervous and he saw Valentine say something. Or at least he saw his lips move. He heard nothing besides the soft buzz of the lights overhead. He saw himself pull at the handle and… he woke up with the echoes of a long high scream in his head.


	5. V1, Starters Chapter 5

_Project: Advancement June 17__th__ 2006_

_There have been many changes. One subject in particular seems to be less responsive. Having her is doing very little for the results. There maybe need to get rid of her. It all remains to be seen. Meanwhile the others are doing much better. They are improving beyond belief. Now the Analyzation stage is almost over. Next we will begin some practical exams. These are the results that must be good. Without these there is no funding. There can be no mistakes._

Jennifer

After another check up, Jennifer had more news. "I'm pretty sure that there are others now." Alicia looked up in amazement. "What? How do you know?" she asked with great interest. "I… found that file. I think that the other girl may have—died. Her page was crossed out." "So do you think that they're also… different?" Jennifer however didn't answer the question directly. "That brings me to something else," she said, "During my check up I was fighting this guy. I had thought it was some robot; a droid of theirs. He had some mask on. I had one on too, for that matter. It was supposed to protect me. He… it… the guy could control shadows, or make them or something. It was weird. The fight ended before anyone could win though, because his mask fell off. It was definitely a person. When Doctor Coburn asked me, I told him I hadn't seen anything."

Jennifer looked at Alicia and saw fear and hope in her eyes. Alicia was quiet for a long time and then asked, "So now what are we gonna do?" Jennifer stared back solemnly and with her own fears and hopes in plain sight. "I don't know," she admitted, "but maybe the best thing to do would be to escape."

Alicia

So there were others. She had to admit that there was an initial relief that came from knowing that she and Jennifer weren't alone, but now what did it mean for them? Did the others know that they existed? This news alone was too much for her. However, she also had to throw in the fact that escaping was on the horizon. She longed for another sacred look at nature. To stare at an endless sky, to feel the grass underfoot in bare feet, or to take in the wafting breeze on a warm day were the things that she wanted most. As these thoughts infiltrated her mind, she decided that they had to try to escape.

"What do we do?" she asked, determined now, even as her fear permeated the outsides of her voice. Jennifer started to pace, and, after a while, she stopped in front of her bars. She grabbed one and held it tightly. She felt the strong and cool length and said aloud, "I might be able to break these eventually…, then we'll still have to get through his office… we might have to do something about the guards."

"Because there's no way that such a specific and detailed plan as that can fail…" Alicia chimed in. Jennifer glared in her direction and she was instantly ashamed. She remembered that someone may have died in this place. They had to get out.

She sighed and stood up, tall and brave. "Okay then, I guess we'll have to get out. When?"


	6. V1, Starters Chapter 6

_PA June 21__st__ 2006_

_A few of these test subjects are improving in unimaginable ways. It truly is amazing. There is word from other bases and they are showing similar results. Everyone is pleased. We must continue now. Morale is high and we know that things can only get better._

Katie

Okay. Today was the day. After Kyle's check up they were getting out. Their nightly trips to the astral plane had led them to more controlled power, but… They had trained in the astral plane and were now much stronger but the thing was that she hadn't improved like they had. She glanced upwards and looked at them all. She was at least glad that she had people that cared for her so much. It was somewhat reassuring.

In front of her Valentine began to pace. As he went the few feet from wall to wall of his cage, the small dimensions of their cages were emphasized. She looked at him and felt herself go red when he saw her. She stood up and walked to the end of her cage. "Hey, Valentine, are you ok?" He spoke slowly and with a lot of effort. "Yeah. I'm just thinking." Worried?" she asked, knowing the answer. "Nah." He said coolly. "What could go wrong?" he gave a small laugh, but it did anything but assure her. "You know," she began, "this isn't necessary. I" But before she could finish he turned to her sharply and said something that did comfort her, "Katie. We're all in this together. We are all part of this strange nightmare, and we all need to stay together if we ever want to wake up from it. So yeah. It is necessary."

Danny

Danny was pumped. They were getting out today. Maybe there was a small chance of getting caught. Maybe they could get hurt. It was all better than being stuck there. His foot taped against the floor of his cage and he felt restless. Why was time always slowest when he needed it to go fast? Kyle was still in his check up, but when he got back they'd start. They'd pretend to go to bed, and wait an hour or so and then—Bam! They had trained hard for this. He had gained a better hold on his electric bolts and had amazing aim. Katie was—better, but it was better to not get her into that topic. Ricky was insane now! He could do some of the craziest stuff. Kyle had grown too, and he had a vision of what they had to be ready for. He said that they'd be ok until a set of doors and that that was going to be where they'd meet the first guards. It was scary but they'd make it. They had to make it. He had been waiting to do something besides dealing with things. He wanted to work to get out. Everyone around him was worried. Danny fell back on his bed. He lay there, waiting. The best part was yet to come. He wasn't worried. This was what he'd been waiting for.

Valentine

It was time. Kyle had just returned from his check up and everyone nervously glanced at each other; all except for Ricky. They saw Valentine as their leader, but he wasn't. He was nothing more than a front. Ricky was the real brains. He had come up with the plans. He was the one that would get them out of here. Valentine was nothing more than cheap muscle. He was supposed to break through the bars, which were nothing to him now, while Ricky would astral project into the lab and let them out. It wasn't a perfect plan but they had to get out. Tomorrow was Katie's last day. He sighed, realizing that it was time, and clawed through the bars, almost laughing at the ease with which he did it. He let everyone out of their cages and then waited. They were impatient—ready to leave and feeling the adrenaline rushing. The adrenaline high, however, had a roof of fear that had them on edge. Kati looked like she was just about to cry. She sat cross-legged, staring off, completely separated from them. Kyle was leaning against his cage and whistling a tune; its brightness juxtaposed with the situation's potential failure. Danny seemed oddly excited; too numb with a lack of age too understand the danger the faced. His hair was frizzy with static, and his pinky was twitching rapidly. Valentine saw himself reflected in a metal cabinet across the room. He was just as unsure and scared, but he seemed calm. Without making a sound, movement, and sitting upright with determination he seemed to be centered and ready.

The Door opened and Ricky appeared for a second then disappeared only to reappear behind them, in his cage. They all stood then, making a sort of circle. They stood there for what seemed an eternity; soaking in a strange sensation. A power, but not a synthetic one. No, this was more natural. It came from their unity. From having a common cause. With renewed confidence and a surge in adrenaline Valentine said, "Let's go."

Ricky

With those words they crossed through into the lab. They had all been there many times, but never together. Ricky himself felt a sense of horrific nostalgia as he walked through it. One specific experience, however, stood out in his mind. He had been fighting some sort of robot. That's what he'd been doing for the last few check-ups. His powers had grown a lot by then and he was quite adept, but this opponent was different. Its moves were more than just calculated. They had frenzy to them. Around him bits of metal started to fly and melt. After a while, though, his helmet came off. Suddenly t stopped. Frozen. He thought it was a safety feature. It would keep him from getting hurt, but the way it fought was so… irrational….so…Then the perfect word hit him. It was so human. Could there be others here? This thought alarmed him. If there was would it be wrong to leave when they could be in trouble. However, if he were to voice this thought it might put this whole thing in jeopardy.

As they left the large room, Ricky took the memory with him and decided to tell Kyle. Valentine seemed too stressed as it was, Danny was too young, and Katie was emotionally freaked. He leaned towards Kyle and they straggled behind. They had been walking through a large hallway. It had been the one that Kyle had told them was in his vision. They'd be safe for a few turns of the hall.

"What is it?" asked Kyle.

Ricky didn't know how to begin. "I think… I think that maybe there are others in here…"

"Yeah?" Kyle asked in such a normal way that it seemed fake. That was just his way though. He seemed to not care but he was always thinking really hard about one thing or another.

"Yeah. I think that others have been- changed too."

"O.K." That was it. No questions. Kyle had a way of knowing things even if he did seem oblivious at times. He also tended to trust people with very little prodding.

They kept walking until they came to the end of the corridor. In front of them was a set of steel double doors. There was an odd stillness as Valentine reached for the handle. Ricky wondered what Kyle would do when Kyle suddenly grabbed Valentines arm and pulled it back. "Wait!" the sound pierced through the quiet. "There's someone on the other side."

Kyle

Kyle had been thinking about what Ricky had said and about his premonition when he spaced out. When he realized this was the door from his vision he jerked himself out of his thoughts. They were all looking at him and he realized that he had grabbed Valentines elbow. He let go and went through his vision. They had been walking…. And then the doors….the lights above were drowning out anything they said…and when the door opened… He quickly turned to Ricky. "I think you're right. There are others like us and they're out there." He said turning to the door. "What?" Ricky explained what had happened in that lab. "Are you sure about this?" Valentine asked. "Nope." Kyle answered coolly and he stuck out his arm and opened the door. As he did so they were enveloped in a bright light and a high and jolting scream.


	7. V1, Starters Chapter 7

So... Firestarter does not belong to me. The characters so far, however, do belong to me. To me! Me!!!! cough cough umm... yeah. Furthermore I finally got a bit of time so I've written up to Chapter 13. Just need to type them, so I'll have more up soon! Any reviews would be greatly appreciated. Seriously. Anything. I'm begging. Even if it's just to say the story sucks. Really. Anything! Yup.

Koa

_PA July 18__th__ 2006_

_More hurdles. We are facing a lack of control. These kids require constant vigilance. They have grown restless. Concerns come with their success. Hopefully they do not come to fruition. The subjects seem to need something. Whatever it is they must not get it. For now I must work harder to ensure their control._

Jennifer

They had been walking through a long hallway for quite a while now. She had finally been able to get her power strong enough to melt through the bars. She remembered that last hour so vividly, even though the memory was wildly intertwined within itself. An image in particular stuck in her head, emboldened by the strong sense of foreboding that accompanied it. She had just let Alicia out of her cage, and saw a flash of fear in her face. Then she asked, "Are we gonna be ok?" "Definitely." Jennifer answered calmly. She felt such a need to protect Alicia, and wanted her answer to be true for her, but as they made their way in silence she wasn't sure anymore.

As they walked she let her mind go back to the beginning, seeing herself convince Alicia that everything will be fine. She now admitted it to herself. There was a lot of danger in this, but there were others. She knew this from her last experience in the lab. They had to do something, and she hated to see Alicia and herself conform to such ugly norms. She realized that they had stopped walking and looked up to see a set of double doors. She took a deep breath and reached for the door, but before she could feel the handle, it turned and she heard Alicia scream.

Alicia

This was it. Someone had found them. They'd probably be killed. Maybe worse. Who knew what this place was capable of? Alicia closed her eyes anticipating an attack that never came. She finally opened her eyes and saw a group of kids there. For a while they just stared at each other, but soon the questions bombarded the air.

In the midst of the confusion, Alicia found herself quietly looking them over. 4 guys and a girl, like the file, except hadn't Jennifer read that the girl had died? She sure looked like she might drop any second. Her head was in odd tangles and her eyes suggested previous weeping. Next to her a slightly taller, yet obviously younger boy never stopped talking. He let his words trip over themselves, with little regard for their sense. His hair hung slightly over his head, a blonde that seemed to waver between a bright white and a dull orange tinge. Next to him was a taller boy who, with straight brown hair and an almost boyish face, looked quite handsome. His eyes however had a serious air of focus. His arms were crossed and although he said little, it all seemed more worthy than rest. Then was a boy about the same size but maybe a year or 2 older. He seemed to be thinking about something very hard, and his eyes seemed glazed as if he didn't even know this was going on. Finally, the tallest was a boy about Jennifer's age with deep eyes set against a face that seemed to say, "I don't know what you're talking about!" He stared at her and she felt a tingle on her neck. He looked at Jennifer and then just smiled. These are the others she thought, the feeling almost anticlimactic. However they now realized that they had to hurry.

To her right was another set of double doors and to her left was their exam room. "What should we do now?" asked the tallest of the boys. Jennifer quickly answered. "I think that we should check the exam room. There's a file in there that might help. Then we'll check these," she finished pointing at the double doors. The one with brown hair stared for a while and then nodded to the others. As they opened the doors they heard a voice.

"This is a complete failure They're—"

Inside was Doctor Coburn holding a tape recorder and staring intently at a monitor. On it they saw various images highlighting their escape. They'd been caught.


	8. V1, Starters Chapter 8

_PA July 26__th__ 2006_

_They have gotten out of control! After all the work we've done it's all over now. No way will we get the funding to continue now! They have ruined everything! This is a complete failure! They're-- Gasp So… ys… ually…body… eaks… No! ... Out! ... Nooo…I told you get out!_

Katie

"So you guys actually thought that you could escape? You guys are nobodies! You can't do anything! "The doctor looked them over and stopped on her. "Especially you. You were all nobodies and that's exactly why you were taken and now you're worse. You're freaks. What's going to happen when you get out there? None of you had pasts! There's no one waiting. Each and every one of you is a nobody, and none more than Miss Katie here." What happened then, she would never be able to explain. Everyone moved at the same time. The first thing she saw was Kyle rush at the doctor and leave him on the ground with one punch, quickly followed by the blurs of the rest. "No! I made you! Get out! You are mine! No!" As the doctor hit the ground the recorder fell and released its tape. The doctor got up and pushed a button on the wall. Normally it set up their exercises, but now hundreds of training droids came out.

He shouted, "I told you guys to get out!" Instead Ricky sent out a ball of astral energy, knocking out the doctor. As more droids came out, guards began to file in. Great she thought. They looked around at an impossible task. She looked to Valentine and saw him nod at them. This was it; they had to fight.

Valentine

Chaos. It was the only word that could come close to describing the scene. The droids were nothing new to them, but they had never fought so many at the same time. At least this time they were together. He was fighting a few of them, slashing and clawing his way through them, tearing into metal and wire. Ricky was sending out mega blasts of astral energy in waves, fighting them off a few at a time. Katie and Kyle were fending off a couple of droids together. He would fight one the best he could and she would throw one or two back to keep the fight fair. The eldest of the 2 new girls was apparently melting the droids one at a time. Danny and the other girl were busy dealing with the guards. Danny was sending volts of electricity at them and occasionally stopping to recharge by taking energy from the many droids, and the other girl was creating clones of herself and flames that would appear then disappear. This whole thing was insane, but they kept fighting. Suddenly he heard a shout. He looked over and saw Kyle was on the ground with a group of droids surrounding him.

Danny

Danny was blasting the guards with energy stolen from the droids. Next to him, that girl created illusions, scaring the guards who didn't know what was real and what wasn't. When he heard the scream he looked back to see Kyle surrounded, and Katie furiously trying to get rid of the droids, but only managing to throw back a few. He tried to run over but was grabbed by a guard.

"Try to shock me n-Ahhh!" The guard let go as he saw Danny burst into flames. He had to remember to thank the girl. He kept fighting, trying to get closer and saw Valentine running towards Katie and Kyle. As he ran his arms waved wildly in front of himself, tearing through the droids. He didn't see the hunk of metal on the ground, though, and ended up sprawled on the ground. Droids swarmed over him. \

Danny was trying to blast as many as possible, concentrating on getting as many as possible, when he sent out all of his energy in one burst. The 3 or 4 droids around him and the girl flew back and she looked over thankful for the brief second to take a breath. Unfortunately it was only a second, because more droids instantly took up the fight. He sighed and started again.

Ricky

"Throw an energy ball. Send out a wave. Ball. Ball. Wave." This went through Ricky's mind as he fought. He was taking on a lot, and was doing badly. Even worse, he was getting tired. He wasn't sure how much longer he could tap into the astral plane. As he kept going the scream awakened him to the fact that he wasn't the only one doing bad. Someone had to help Kyle and Katie. They were probably the most vulnerable. He grunted as he sent out a huge wave of astral energy. In that small eye of space he created, he sent out the last of his astral energy to create an astral wall around Kyle and Katie. Maybe he couldn't help with the ones they were already fighting, but at least he could keep more droids from attacking. Hopefully they could deal with the ones within the wall. As his eye closed, he realized he'd have to fight without his power now. He couldn't reach the astral plane anymore. He started fighting, but it wasn't long before they took him down. Around him he heard nothing but screams. He lay there taking swing after swing from the cold robotic hands when he saw something. From within the wall he saw a light.

Kyle

He had been fighting them one by one, occasionally floating up to drop one down, when he heard Katie moan. He looked over and saw her hunched over, obviously wiped. "Kat-Ahhh!" He felt a sharp pain from behind. He fell over and was quickly surrounded. "Kyle!" He saw Katie trying to get him back and felt her fear. Screams like his filled the room. This wasn't what he expected. Around him a wall suddenly appeared, keeping more droids back, but the ones already inside were still too much. He felt himself send out his senses. He felt nothing but fear. It echoed from the back of the room, but more than anything, it flew at him from Katie. He saw her trying to move the droids with her mind and saw only one droid being thrown back slightly. He saw her throw herself at them, trying to push them back. He fought too. With droids all over him, he fought to keep them back. Then everything grew quiet. He felt like he was in a premonition, but it was too real. He couldn't hear anything. Suddenly everything was bathed in a white light. "Kyle, please be ok!" Katie's voice echoed over the silence. "Katie?" he thought. "Yeah?" he heard her answer. "Katie?!? What's going on?" "I don't know. I—" Then the light vanished and Kyle blacked out.


	9. V1, Starters Chapter 9

_End of Tape! End of Tape! End of Tape! End of Tape!_

Jennifer

A white light came and went, and with it was a wave of energy that sent the nearest set of droids flying back. From within that wall from nowhere, floated the girl and one of the boy; both limp and glowing, but the girl seemed possessed. As they went by flicked her finger in one direction and sent the droids through the air. Behind her the boy hung lifeless. As the girl continued through the room the rest of the droids were quickly thrown against the wall by the apparent force of her fingers. After the longest minute yet, the droids were all in heaps, destroyed like the very room they were in. As the last one fell, the boy and girl collapsed from their hovered spots. Everyone ran over trying to make sure that they were ok. Both had passed out, but were breathing and seemed overall fine.

"We should probably get going," Jennifer stated, worried both about the 2 on the ground and the many that could be on their way to investigate what had happened. The boy with claws and fangs stood, and after a few moments declared, "Alright. Let's go." He picked up the boy, and carried him on his shoulders with surprising strength. The shorter blonde picked up the girl and Jennifer quickly ran over to what was left of the cabinets. She melted the flimsy lock and from inside retrieved the file. Also by the cabinet she found a knee high metal box, half torn in two, and within it kept a small stack of food. Not a lot, but they hadn't planned for much, so it could always help. She picked it up too. She rejoined the group and together they walked back into the hall. They reached the last door, and although they couldn't stand to face anything else, they opened it; ready to face something besides their cages and tests. Through a small glass panel moonlight streamed in and as the doorknob turned she sighed from exhaustion and hope.

Katie

They made it. Alicia was excited to finally be somewhere else. She opened the door and walked into the clean fresh air. As she let herself experience nature as much as possible, she also surveyed her surroundings. They were in front of an old building that they would never believe to house such cruel acts. In front of them she saw an empty road and past it a forest. That's where they would go to rest. The two unconscious kids weren't doing very well, and they all were exhausted. As they walked through the small woods, she relished the feel of a breeze, but soon grew tiresome. They needed to rest. After about an hour of walking they decided to set up camp. They realized then that they wouldn't have a lot, but that would have to wait for tomorrow. They gathered some wood and after a few bolts of electricity they ignited. Around the fire they all gathered, and she felt herself slowly doze off. In the background she heard the soft sounds of voices, worried and full of fear, but they slowly shrunk around her as sleep set in.


	10. V1, Starters Chapter 10

_**Yeah… so Firestarter isn't mine. Everything else, however, is mine. Yup. So read onward… Oh! And I'm going to start going a bit out of order, character wise. K.**_

_**- **_

Katie

She had no idea where she was. The last thing that she could remember was hearing Kyle's scream and sending out all her power at once. Then this, whatever this was. It reminded her of the astral plane, but bright. Or rather white. Everywhere.

Kyle was there too; unconscious, but there nonetheless. She sat on what she assumed was ground, although it was the same indistinguishably awkward white, and she waited for something to happen. Anything besides the quiet. Next to her the Kyle's steady breathing marked time. She sat here for what seemed ages, when he finally awoke.

"Katie?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we?"

"I'm not sure…" she answered slowly.

"What about the others?"

She looked over, plainly showing her lack of knowledge in silence, and he looked down in acceptance. After a while, he sat up and together they sat, in quiet peace. Unnerved but glad for the company. The silence wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, and Katie felt herself actually begin to calm down in it. She felt herself slowly start to fall asleep, overcome by the sense of calm that came and the need for sleep she suddenly attained.

Valentine

He'd been unable to sleep, and anyway someone had to keep an eye over everything. So he spent his time reading. He'd read over the entire files during the last 4 or 5 hours. They weren't too long in and of themselves, but they were troubling. Apparently there had been an original set of 50 kids, who had been experimented on and of those they were the only ones left. Everyone else had died. Unable to handle what they'd been given. So now what? Would they also die? Would their powers be too much too? He rubbed his temples. It was too much. They were all wiped and they still had to figure out what to do next.

As he looked around he realized they still didn't know the names of the 2 girls. They laid in the grass against a tree, both maintaining looks of doubt and worry, even in their dreams. Ricky's head lay buried in his arms, having abruptly fallen asleep just a short while ago. Danny had been the first one out, and now slept with wild erratic movements. Katie and Kyle were still asleep, blank faces and stable breathing telling him nothing about their state. He himself was fried, but unable to get to sleep, full of thoughts bouncing around each other. He looked up at the sky, amazed, and wondering whether the sky had grown new ones in his absence. So many of them, all looking alike, hung above him. He closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air.

When he finally opened them he was caught off guard by the puffs of white that replaced the bright shimmers above. He sat up and saw that everyone else had already woken up, sitting around the fire and eating a few bites of what Jennifer had taken. It wasn't going to last long he realized when his stomach started growling. Ricky looked over, and seeing that he was awake he offered him a roll slightly bigger than a fist. He sat, slowly making his way through the piece of bread. Around him the rest of the group made small talk. They learned each others' names. Jennifer who could melt and control metal, and Alicia, who could create false images. When they all looked like they were reasonably fed, he stood up.

"You guys, I know we just got out of something really… bad, but we have to get going. We don't know if they'll be looking for us." He saw the looks of doubt, and Jennifer spoke up.

"What about Kyle and Katie?"

"We'll have to carry them for a while. They're not exactly heavy lifting, and I'm sure they'll be fine in a while." He said the last part with very little enthusiasm, since he was just as unsure about everything. Slowly, they all stood up, and cleaned everything they could. Finally, Alicia created a quick illusion over everything just in case. Then they started walking again.

Ricky

He was carrying Kati and Valentine carried Kyle. Everyone else slowly trudged ahead. After they had put another hour between the lab and them, they stopped to rest. As he relaxed for the time, Ricky's mind wandered to what would happen when they passed the woods. They were outcasts now. Little more than vagabonds. Would they have to resort to thievery? He wasn't sure that he would be able to do that. He was, however, torn from his thoughts when they got back up to start off again.

After only a few moments of walking, though, the trees began to thin out. He looked around at the strange state of the woods, and was shocked when he spied from them the beginning of a road and an old building. As they stepped out of what they had seen as woods, they saw themselves in an old part of the huge city, smack in the middle of the old park. Instinctively they drew back to sort things out. Suddenly Katie and Kyle began to wake up with loud wheezing. They laid them down and Kyle unexpectedly sat up and shouted, "Katie!"

Kyle

"Katie!" he shouted. Again he was dazed by the complete change in scenery. This time the bright white, had been replaced by a blurry green all around. Around him he saw everyone from before, including Katie, who was having trouble breathing. He tried to stand up, but was attacked by dizziness and quickly fell back down. "Is she ok?" he asked in a half whisper half shout.

"I don't know." Ricky answered morosely. Kyle quickly sent out his senses. Worry was rampant amongst them, but nothing comparing to Katie's pain. He sat up with a groan and looked over, watching painfully as she slowly calmed down, and sighing with relief when she stood of her own free will and slowly, but surely started breathing. Everyone else's feelings slowly turned back into a frightened calm, and they began to tell them what happened.

"So what now?" Kyle asked.

"Now we stay and rest." Valentine answered strongly. "You guys definitely need it."

Kyle almost stood up to protest, but his exhaustion stopped him and he found himself agreeing. He laid himself back down and slept through the rustle of voices that worriedly hoped everything would be fine.

Jennifer

So now they were all there; except that they were running out of food. That and they were living in a park. They'd have to leave eventually. She had to talk with Ricky and Valentine, after they got Katie and Kyle to sleep. Finally when they had fallen asleep, and Alicia was busy talking with Danny, she went over to them. When they noticed her they stood up, "Hey Jennifer, how're you doing?"

"Fine, considering…" she left the sentence out there, unsure of how to end it, but they understood.

"So what's up?" Ricky asked.

"I was just thinking about the fact that, well, we're running out of food and we're not really set, home-wise. I think we should talk about what we're gonna do."

They looked at each other and then at Jennifer. "We know… and we think that to start out we may have to do some things… to start out…"

"You mean steal?"

"We don't want to, but we might not have a choice. Besides, the first thing we'll have to do is find a place to stay. Tomorrow after we've all slept we'll all talk? Ok?"

She looked up and sighed, but nodded after a short moment. "Ok. Good night."

"Good night."

Alicia

She woke up to the scattered sounds of everyone readying the last of the food. She walked over to Valentine and Jennifer and got a small piece of what was left, and saw Katie, Kyle, and Ricky talking in one group with Danny sprawled on the grass near them. Then Valentine cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention and they all got closer, and Alicia chose her spot between Danny and Jennifer.

"Okay, so now that everyone is up," he started, "I think we should all talk about our—situation. As you can all se we've run out of food and living in a park. Basically, I think that maybe we should send out a small group of us to get supplies, and most importantly look for a possible spot where we can stay. Unfortunately, that might mean that we'll have to, for a lack of a better word, steal."

Instantly Alicia saw heads go up, but no one said anything. She also felt bad, but this was forced on them.

"So," continued Valentine, "I think that maybe Jennifer should take Danny and Alicia. Together with your gifts… you should be fine."

Everyone stared at them, but nonetheless Jennifer said yes, and so that was that. They finished eating and then went off.


	11. V1, Starters Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Firestarter is not mine, but most of the characters are

**Disclaimer: Firestarter is not mine, but most of the characters are. One however… isn't. Yup. So read on.**

**Furthermore: Thanks to Kar-zid and to Marner for their reviews. Seriously, it'll keep me going for a while. Thnks. On to the story. Oh and yeah, I did mean for that to say Alicia… oops. I'll try and fix that soon. Sorry for the wait, school has been killer. **

Katie

She didn't like this. Stealing seemed so vulgar. Still, she didn't say anything, because they needed to do this. Now they'd sit for as long as Jennifer and the others would be gone. She leaned back and sighed.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She looked up to see Kyle standing over her.

"It'll cost you a lot more than that…"

"Funny." He sat down next to her, in one long and smooth motion. "So, what's on your mind?" He looked over to her, seeing her eyes clouded over by deep thought.

"I just don't… feel good about this… I don't know." She said slowly, holding out each word as if she didn't really know if she could say it.

"Well, it'll be fine… just try to not worry too much… you'll live longer." She laughed, quietly. A small almost inaudible giggle.

"On another topic," he continued in a slightly more worried tone, "what do you think happened to us back at the lab?"

"I'm not sure… it was pretty crazy." At this he finally let a frown across his face.

"Sorry, I guess I'm being a bit of a pessimist, but—," he said, stopping suddenly. "Did you hear that?" She looked up and saw Ricky and Valentine do the same. "Are they back?" she asked. Then from the bushes emerged a tall blonde lady of around 30 years and a boy not much older than them.

"Finally!" The woman exclaimed. "We've been tracking you for quite a ways."

Valentine

"Who are you? What do you want?" Valentine asked, instantly on his feet. She didn't seem too old but her face clearly showed the decay that came with pain. She had on a pair of cargo shorts, slightly scorched at the bottom and a blouse that was more than a little dirt-stained. The boy had short brown hair, and seemed slightly more ruffled than the woman.

She stood tall, towering over them, and when she spoke she gave off a haughty aura. "My name is Charlie, and I think that I can help you guys."

Valentine looked at her, slowly inspecting, with high suspicion and meticulous eyes. "How do we know we can trust you." He said, voicing a fear they all held that maybe she worked back at the lab.

"Because," she began, "I'm one of you," and in her hand she created a ball of fire just bigger than her fist and then made it disappear. "This," she said pointing to the boy next to her, "is Ben." As she finished she quickly nudged him and he sent his fist down hard, and with it they felt the ground below them shake. After a long quiet Valentine finally responded by letting them sit, and then Charlie told them all her story. How her mother was killed by the same organization that had experimented on them, and shortly followed by her father's death. She told them about the boy she had found on the streets a few days ago, who had escaped from the early stages of the experiment and was labeled deceased according to the file they had. Apparently his power was called psychoactive waves. He could control energy waves mentally, thereby creating waves in water, earthquakes on land and such.

At the end of their story, Valentine asked candidly, "So, what do you want from us?"

"I want you." She answered. "I can offer you a place to stay, but in exchange, I need your help."

Ricky

The lady, Charlie, seemed nervous. She didn't look trustworthy. Her story told them that she had been through a lot, but her tone suggested that not only did she want revenge, but she was willing to do anything. A few feet over he saw Katie and Kyle having gone over with the boy, who seemed more at ease away from Charlie.

"So how do you need our help," Valentine finally asked.

"I'm more Than sure that the Shop has more than just this one Shop location. I have to stop them. They're experiments are causing unnecessary pain and death." They went on for a while, but Ricky just sat back and watched. It turned out that she had a small place near an abandoned room that Ben had been staying in. She also said that she would help them hone their gifts.

"Okay," agreed Valentine, "but first we have to get it straight. We do not want to hurt anyone."

"Of course." She nodded, but the smile behind it was so vicious that Ricky suddenly felt worse about everything.

Kyle

"So, how long have you been out?"

"About a month or so," answered Ben. They had been talking for awhile now. Kyle, Katie, and Ben. Apparently, Ben had escaped towards the beginning of the experiments

"Well, what do you know about…" he began, unsure of how he was going to finish the sentence.

"Charlie?" Ben finished for him. "She's not bad. She can be a bit out there but… they took her daughter you know?... She thought that she was safe. She married and had a daughter. Then there was the car crash. Her husband died, but not Meg. That was her name… Megan. The Shop found out that she was able to heal herself. That's why they started again. That's why they're working on young people. When Charlie found out, she tried to do something about it. She said she first went after a Shop in San Francisco. She finally found the site, but there was a huge explosion."

"So, there are more shops?" Kyle asked, filled with a sense of dread at the possibility of more situations like his. It was one of the few things he said throughout the whole conversation. Most of his time was spent looking over the new kid.

"Yeah," he answered, "Charlie thinks there might be a bunch all over the country, and that's what she wants to do—to go and stop them, and save the kids that are there." They sat there for a long time, then, and said nothing. Finally Valentine and Ricky came over.

"O.K. you guys, pack up, we've got to get the others.

Jennifer

_You guys, come back. We've found something._

The words appeared in her head, not spoken, just there. She realized it had to be Katie. "Wait. Stop." She told the others. They were in a grocery store. Alicia had a mirage around them, while she and Danny grabbed supplies. "We've got to put everything back, Katie's calling us." They put everything where it went and headed out of the store. Halfway between the store and the park they found the others walking with 2 others. Jennifer's thoughts quickly raced around the idea of being caught. They carefully made their way over.

"What's going on?" she asked eyeing a middle aged woman and a boy not much younger or older than her. "This is Charlie," Valentine explained signaling at the woman. "She wants our help." They kept walking and as they did the others told her, Alicia, and Danny what had happened in their absence. Finally they reached an abandoned building, graffiti covering its brick walls.

Inside Charlie began. "First of all, I'd like to thank you for this. The closest Shop that I know of is in L.A. but first I wanted to formally introduce myself and get to know you guys better. I'm Charlie and I because both of my parents were part of the Shop's experiment I have the ability to start fires." She then nudged the boy. "I'm Ben and I can – create waves." At this Alicia spoke out. "You what?"

"I can send out psychic waves to create small earthquakes, sonic booms… waves…"

"I'm Valentine—I have shark DNA."

"I'm Ricky and I can tap into astral energy."

"I'm Katie. I move things with my mind."

"I'm Kyle. I… don't know exactly what it is but I can levitate and tell what others are feeling…"

"I'm Danny. I send out electricity."

"I'm Jennifer and I can control metal.

"… and I'm Alicia. I can create images… mirages…"

Charlie looked at them all, closely scrutinizing them. After a long while she seemed content. "O.K. before we go barging into the Shop's ground, I think you could all benefit from training. We'll be spending a week here before leaving. Tonight get some rest. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." She then got up and left.

They looked around at each other. "Now what?" Jennifer said, voicing everyone's thought. Ben looked up and said, "Well… this is where we sleep."

"Here?" Alicia said in disgust. "Yeah, but it's better than a park, right?" Ben asked. They looked around, seeing mattresses strewn about the ground. "Ok." Jennifer said. "Good night you guys."


	12. V1, Starters Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Once again, I emphasize my lack of ownership when it comes to Firestarter

**Disclaimer: Once again, I emphasize my lack of ownership when it comes to Firestarter. However, feel free to leave reviews. Thanks to all who read, but especially to those who take time to make comments. Onto the kids—**

Alicia

Alicia woke up to what had become an almost routine schedule. They had been there for a couple of day, and she had begun to feel a lot better about everything. Charlie was right. Something had to be done about the Shop. Now she made her way to Charlie's room where she'd be getting her 1-on-1 training. Tomorrow they'd be leaving for L.A.

In Charlie's room she was shown different pictures, and was supposed to create mirages around herself to imitate the picture. She'd go from blonde to brunette at first working up to looking like an exact copy of any picture shown. After this she'd be expected to do the same thing to other objects, making them look like other things. Finally the hardest part would be to create a mirage by itself. It wouldn't be covering anything; it would just be on its own. By now she could make small ones that would last for a while, but nothing more. Finally they decided to call it quits.

She went back to the abandoned room and told Katie and Kyle that it was their turn with Charlie. They had special 2-on-1 meetings now. Across the room she saw Danny, and walked over. Charlie had told them that they might have to face the same kind of battles at the next Shop, especially if they knew about what had happened in their Shop, so she said they should use time alone to train even when she wasn't with them. She and Danny had been training, him working on sending out bolts of electricity, her dodging them. Besides creating mirages, she could do very little, so she had decided to train herself physically too. As they began their training again, she caught herself almost being hit by a strong bolt. She realized she'd been staring at Danny and felt herself go red. He looked at her funny and then broke into his goofy grin. She laughed it off and put it out of her mind as she tried to not be electrocuted.

Katie

It was time for their meeting with Charlie. They were the only ones to not meet alone with her, but that was because they discovered something. They had both been given the same infusion; a mind stimulant. The stimulant, however, had gone to different parts of the mind in each of them. According to the file, her power was the ability to send out psychic energy, while his was the power to take in psychic energy. That's why she could move things with her mind, and send out thoughts, and he could tell what others were feeling and get visions of the future; she'd be losing all that energy and he'd be taking in all that energy. Together, though, they created a power conduit. Him taking in power and her sending it out, they created a limitless cycle. That's why when they were together at the lab; they got the huge power boost. With close distance she could use her power without headaches, but here she didn't feel right. Something about Charlie seemed wrong. She had only told Kyle this, and he seemed to agree.

Over the last week, and after everything that had happened, she and Kyle had gotten really close, and she really liked him. Not like she like Valentine, but he had become her best friend.

Now, in Charlie's room, they began with a simple training exercise. She would move things around, and he would try to receive visions of what and where. They tried sending thoughts. Finally, they finished what was usually their last exercise. "Okay, good," began Charlie, "but now I want to try something a little bit different. Kyle, I want you to focus on Katie. Focus on her ability. Now try to send it out onto the picture on the wall." Katie saw Kyle glance up at the wall, and suddenly the painting went flying. Had she done that?

"Excellent!" exclaimed Charlie, "Kyle, you say that you can levitate, but that has nothing to do with absorbing energy. I think that when you absorb energy, you can also use it to some extent… ok. Well, for tonight this should be fine. Remember we're leaving tomorrow."

They got up and made their way back. "Do you think we're actually ready for this?" she asked. "I don't know… maybe..." he answered, looking troubled. "Ok… well… on a different subject… I saw you staring at Ben this morning…" she said playfully. "Wh- what are you talking about?" he asked sheepishly. "You like him don't you?" she responded.

"Not that it's any of your business, Ms. My-eyes-are-glued-to-Valentine…. But maybe…"

"My eyes aren't… whatever!" They kept walking, and she felt an odd sort of normalcy. That night she was able to fall asleep easy, even with thoughts of the next day floating around in her head.

Valentine

That next morning they were all jumpy. A sense of fear that he had only felt once before, filled the room.

"Ok, you guys. Let's get started." The plan was that they'd be taking a bus to L.A. According to Charlie, the only other Shop base that she had been able to find would be there. Alicia would form a mirage around herself, Kyle, Ben, Jennifer, and Ricky, so that they would appear to be a much smaller group, and Valentine, Danny, and Katie would just walk next to Charlie, playing the role of her children. "Stay under the mirage until we reach the stop," warned Charlie. "Are you sure you'll be able to hold it out," she added to Alicia. Alicia nodded and they went off.

As they walked rather quickly to the bus, Valentine began to feel a growing sense of impending doom. He turned to Katie and started, " Katie?" "Yeah?" She answered. He tried to think of a way to explain himself. After a few brooding moments he decided it wouldn't be a good idea to trouble her. "Nothing," he replied. "Nothing?" she questioned doubtfully. "Yeah…" "Ok…"

They kept on walking and then he remembered, "Hey Katie?" "Yeah?" she answered again with a small giggle this time. "Are you going to be ok this time?" "Yeah," she said confidently, "At least I hope so. Especially with Kyle there, I've been able to get a real grasp n this thanks to him." "Oh… he said" and quickly looked down, his cheeks burning red. "So you and Kyle, huh?" he continued.

"Me and Kyle what?" she asked, confused.

"Ummm… nothing…" Valentine said his cheeks glowing redder than before.

"You don't think that Kyle and…" she trailed off as she figured it out. She suddenly burst into laughs that caught Charlie's disapproving glance. "We're just friends, she managed to choke out." As she laughed he felt his cheeks begin to cool and finally he couldn't help smiling as the neared the bus station.

Danny

As they walked towards the bus Danny started to think. He was glad that they had met with Charlie. They'd all gotten a whole lot stronger thanks to her tutelage, and they were beginning to see potential for themselves. They were never meant to have these gifts, but now they had them, which meant they had power. He didn't want to admit it, but he was also glad that he got to spend more time with Alicia.

As they got to the stop, Alicia's mirage began to fade out. She had to focus her power somewhere else now. They'd need it to pay, since they had no money. There was no other way, and he understood this. They were the victims in the situation, and they had to whatever they could to get their revenge and help anyone else who was being hurt by the Shop's actions.

Finally they were on the bus. After a while Danny decided to get to sleep. Tomorrow was sure to be a long day. As he slept, a small smile crept its way onto his face, as he restfully dreamt calmly.

Kyle

None of this felt right. That was Kyle's last thought as he drifted into a restless dream. He saw himself, with the others in a familiar area; an almost exact copy of the lab at the Shop. Around him everyone donned a look of fatigue, except that someone was missing. Everyone looked like they were shouting, but he could barely hear what they would say.

Jennifer seemed on the verge of tears, and this seemed to scare him more than anything. He looked to see what they were all looking at and was shocked to see Alicia being held onto by a guard, a gun pointed to her head.

"Give her back!" Danny shouted ready to shoot a bolt of electricity.

"Wait!" Valentine shouted grabbing Danny by the arm. He seemed to say more, but all Kyle heard was a jumbled whisper. Kyle felt himself send out his senses, and realized that the man had no idea what was going on and was only following orders. Alicia cried n Jennifer's direction and Kyle saw Jennifer begin to cry. Finally Charlie pushed her way forward and flicked her wrist in the man's direction. Instantly the man was on fire. His face contorted in pain, but Kyle couldn't hear any of his screams.

Kyle woke up, drenched in sweat. He looked around and realized everyone was asleep, except Katie who sat next to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked

"He looked around once more and then said, "I- had a premonition."

**I realized after typing this that there was a bit more pairing of the characters than I had originally planned. Furthermore, yes, Kyle is gay, and if you have problems with this… I'm sorry… well... no… I'm not. Live with it. Finally… I've gotten quite a few pages written out and just need to type them up, so I'll try to get that going. Thanks to all who read and especially those who review… so far only Marner and Kar-zid. Thanks. Also, I would appreciate criticism of any kind, to make this better. Once again—Thanks.**

** Koa**


	13. V!, Starters Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Yes

**Disclaimer: Yes. Firestarter does not belong to me. Rub it in why don't you? Charlie also belongs to Stephen King. The others, though, are mine. Thanks to all reviews, and keep on reading. Oh, and I'll try to make the dialogue more clear, especially since there's a lot more coming up.**

Katie

"A premonition? What happened?" Kyle's premonitions were usually nothing more than seeing a couple of minutes into the future, but he seemed worried.

"It's Charlie. She killed someone." He said quietly glancing around the bus. She quickly gave it her own once-over and, seeing that everyone was asleep except for Ricky who looked out the window, almost entranced by whatever was outside, she returned her attention to Kyle.

"Are you sure?" she asked once she was sure that no one was going was to hear her.

"Yeah," he said, worry engraved in his face. Then he recounted the dream.

"Oh! That's horrible!" Katie shouted as he spoke of the man on fire. "We have to tell someone!" she continued. "Valentine or Ricky."

"O.K." he agreed. "At the stop when we wait to start, we'll tell Valentine." They talked quietly the rest of the way. When they got there they were going to wait until it started turning dark before going. That's when they split off with Valentine to talk.

"Valentine" she began, "We… I… Kyle had a premonition."

"What? When?"

"On the bus… he saw Charlie kill someone." Kyle stood looking down, seemingly ashamed of what he did.

"Are you sure?" he asked, instantly concerned.

"Yeah."

"OK. Then we'll have to talk to her." He stated authoritatively. "We have to find out how far she is willing to go. No one can get hurt."

"OK" Kyle and Katie chimed in unison. They went over to a table where Charlie, Alicia, and Danny sat, and gathered the others. "Charlie," Valentine began, "We have some questions for you!"

"What is it?" she asked carefully.

"Kyle had a premonition."

"And…?"

"_And_ you killed, or at least… you will kill someone." Everyone sat, silently listening to Kyle recount his vision.

"What?" she asked, carefully hiding a tinge of fear.

"You heard me Charlie, we want to help you out, but you've promised that no one would get hurt." Valentine said with as much force as he could muster in front of her.

"People are already hurt," she retorted. "There are kids out there like you, some who have died. Aren't you mad about that?"

"That doesn't condone further violence, or further death."

"These people are evil!" Charlie stated loudly. People began to look over at their group.

"Not the man you'll kill," Kyle said quietly, suddenly red in the face from everyone's sudden attention. He continued, "He had no idea what he was working for. He was innocent."

"But you said he had Alicia. What happens when there is no other choice?"

"There will always be another choice. We have to find other ways. We cannot sink to their level."

Charlie stood up then. "Fine then! Gang up on me! I not only helped you, but I saved all of you! You guys stay here. I'm going to do whatever I have to." She turned around, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Everyone turned to see that Danny was now slowly moving towards her. "She's right. The Shop is the one to blame." He moved slowly, but stopped when he was next to Charlie. "If she goes then I go."

"Danny!" Ricky began, his voice booming and stern. "What are you doing?"

"You guys, we have to do what we need to. You all act as if I'm some immature little kid, but with Charlie I've seen that I can do more, especially with these gifts." He stayed next to her, but now he looked over to Alicia, his eyes pleading with her.

"Danny…" she began, but was instantly interrupted by him. "Please, don't try to convince me otherwise." he said quietly.

"I—"she tried again, but was once more interrupted. "Alicia, you have to realize that she's telling the truth here."

Finally Alicia simply stood up. "I know." She said through trembling lips. "I'm coming too." Danny looked almost shocked at her reply, but soon his surprise was replaced by relief. Jennifer; however seemed to find the exact opposite emotions.

"Alicia…" she said, trying to find her voice. Alicia looked at her, biting her lip. "I'm sorry" she mouthed to Jennifer.

Charlie almost looked triumphant when she spoke to Ben. "Come on, Ben. Let them handle themselves." Ben didn't move though. "Ben!" she said through clenched teeth. "Let's go."

"No." he said simply, staring her straight in the eyes. Charlie faltered momentarily, but soon stood tall once more. "Fine." She turned and left followed closely by Danny and Alicia, who turned back once more.

Ricky

"Well, now what?" asked Kyle. _This isn't what should have happened_ thought Ricky. "We'll have to stop them." Jennifer said bluntly. Ricky was shocked that it had come from her. Just seconds earlier he was sure that she might burst into tears. Kyle seemed to stare at Jennifer for a while, but they all knew he was sensing her emotions. Finally he spoke.

"Jennifer, she didn't mean to—"he started.

"No." she said softly, interrupting him. "If they get to the Shop first they might hurt someone. Besides, Charlie wanted to have us to help her. Now she doesn't. She's going to try and get the kids there on her side. We need to stop them." Ricky sat quietly digesting the new threat. Kyle spoke up.

"Wait, so what? Are we the good guys and they the bad guys now? Is that what's happening." His voice bordered frenzy.

"Isn't it?" replied Jennifer. "If they're willing to hurt anyone then maybe."

"What about Danny and Alicia then? They wouldn't hurt anyone, would they?" Everyone sat mulling that over. Danny didn't seem like the kind of person who would do that. Neither did Alicia.

Ricky finally said something. "It doesn't matter. Charlie is more than willing, and that's enough." They looked at each other, and rose from their seats, making their way to an abandoned asylum in the city. That's where Charlie had said the Shop was working from. As they neared the gate they realized something, voiced by a concerned Katie. "How are we going to get in without being seen if Alicia's not here?" This fact, besides being inconvenient seemed to sting them all. In the end they decided that they would take their chances. Jennifer melted a part of the gate and they made their way through the back. Ricky knew that this was reckless, but it was important. They walked through endless halls, unsure of when they'd see anything. There was, however nothing. Suddenly though, alarms began blaring and they heard a loud bang soon followed by the nearest door flying off the wall.

Kyle

As the dust cleared they saw a group of teenagers. They looked scared and confused, but in an almost familiar way. "Who are you?" asked a girl with blonde hair, tall with what looked like claws and a pair of wings growing from her back. "Help." answered Kyle. Behind her were 3 others: a boy with very prominent eyebrows and short black hair, a girl with long black hair and a prudish expression, and a rock-covered thing.

"Help?" asked the girl with wings.

"We're like you," added Jennifer, who melted a nearby metal pipe to prove her point. They quickly explained what was happening, and found out that the five teenagers from here were trying to escape themselves. As they turned to leave, though, the lights began to flicker, and a bolt of electricity flew threw the hall. From the other side emerged Charlie, Danny, and Alicia.

"So," began Charlie, "you beat us here."

"Who are they?" asked the girl with wings.

"Haven't you told them everything?" asked Charlie. She turned to the new group and started with, "I'm Charlie, and—"but she was interrupted by a sudden crash accompanied by a surge of droids.

"The lab droids!" shouted the girl.

"Not again," groaned Kyle.

Forced to face the same enemy, they all began fighting. Kyle was reminded of their last battle. They seemed to take the same positions as before. Valentine was tearing through droid after droid, Ricky sent out waves and waves of astral energy, Jennifer melted through as many as she could, and Kyle and Katie fought together again, with Ben sending out psychic waves to keep the numbers from getting overwhelming. The new kids were also a great addition. The girl with wings was a strong fighter and flew droids up sending them crashing down every once in a while. Meanwhile, the girl with brown hair, who could become invisible, and the boy with the prominent eyebrows, who could move at extreme speeds were easily confusing the guards that seemed to come from nowhere. That rock covered thing seemed to crush his way through the droids. Unfortunately, Danny, Charlie, and Alicia were doing well too. As they worked their way through the droids, though, they were faced with more guards. Humans. Besides, they were getting tired. Then he heard the scream. He turned back to see a guard holding on to Alicia by the neck and holding a gun to her head.

"Alicia!" shouted Jennifer, running towards her.

"Jennifer!" Alicia shouted. "Please help me!"

Jennifer looked confused, and next to her Danny raised an arm ready to shoot down the man.

"Danny! Stop!" commanded Valentine. "We do not want to hurt anyone."

"Help!" Alicia shouted again. "Please! Jennifer, you said that I would be ok!"

Jennifer's face was pure pain. She stood stiffly. She was pushed aside, though, by Charlie. "Out of my way!" she grunted, and with a flick of her wrist she set the man on fire. As the other guards ran for the exit, this one fell and howled with pain. The smell of burning flesh bought Kyle to his knees. They all stared on as the screams died away. There was nothing that they could do.

"You're a monster…" breathed Ben. Around them, mixed emotions filled the room.

"_I'm _a monster?" Charlie asked innocently. "I'm the one who saved her while all of you stared."

In front of them, Alicia seemed to lose all use of her legs as she crumpled to the floor, instantly attended by Danny. The argument, however, continued without noticing.

"You killed a man! Nothing gives you that right." The winged-girl from the new group spit at Charlie. In front of them the new group began an argument very similar to the one they had at the bus stop. In the end Charlie convinced them all to go with her except for the bird-girl. They split up and each made their way through the maze of the asylum they were in. In a small room they found what they needed. Files. Information not just on the new kids, but also the location of more shops. The list had at least 30 different locations all over the country. They had no idea how they would get to all of them, but they had to try. As they walked out of that Shop, Kyle looked up at the stars. Around him were the kids he had not jus gotten used to, but who he learned to care for. His friends. New additions were also there: the girl and Ben. He took a deep breath. He knew it was going to be hard work, but he was glad that he'd have his friends.

**So that's the end of the first volume... Ive got a whole bunch of loose leaf pages filled with random writings for the next volume I just need to organize it and type it up, so be on the lookout, for Volume 2, Dreamers**


	14. Interlude

Disclaimer: This isn't a part of either any Volume, but serves as an epilogue to the first and a prologue to the second

**Disclaimer: This isn't a part of any Volume, but serves as an epilogue to the first and a prologue to the second. Sorry for the long wait, hopefully I'll get a lot done this summer. Again, Firestarter is in no way mine. Enjoy.**

Firestarter II: Project Advancement

Interlude

As they walked through the night, a melancholy moon overhead, the reality hit them. They were just a bunch of teenagers. Not just teenagers, either, but alienated teenagers. They had no pasts to speak of. All that they really had was their gifts. They couldn't tell anyone. Then where would they end up? Locked up again? Experiments once more? At the same time they had a huge job ahead of them. Charlie was obviously ready to do anything to get to the countless other Shop victims. It was up to their small group to stop her. Then what? More questions; all of them bumping around each other as they walked on. They would beat Charlie. They had to, but for as long as possible they had to keep innocent people out of it. This was up to them, whether or not they wanted it to be.

The closest shop was in Arizona. That's where they were headed. It meant that they would have to cross some moral lines, but after much thought it became obvious that it was the only way to do what they had to without letting anyone know about them. Stealing had to become little more than an inconvenience. They were below society now. They were not a part of the world, but mere dreamers among the secret underground unknown to anyone else.

They only stopped once on their way that night. They slept in the back of an old truck that had no idea they existed. There they slept. One would always stay awake to keep watch, but there were always 6 sleeping. 6 dreaming; always 6 who were away from the painful reality.


	15. Volume II, Dreamers Chapter 14

So here it is

**So here it is. The second volume to Firestarter. Special thanks again to Marner and Kar-zid, my 2 constant reviewers. Ya'll are great. Thanks too, to anyone else who has been reading this. I'm gonna use this volume to introduce a few other characters, as well as continue with the original gang. OK. Onto the story.**

Firestarter II: Project Advancement

Volume II: Dreamers

Kyle

Kyle's dreams were usually an escape, except for when they weren't dreams, and lately very few were actual dreams. Most had become premonitions, and it was becoming a burden having to live with constant knowledge of the future. It was a perpetual de ja vu. Sometimes, though, he had no idea who he was in his dreams. He would be surrounded by people he didn't know—living out futures that weren't his. He got used to it, though, in spite of the fact that the first one scared him away from sleep for a couple of days.

They had just left that asylum, having to split from Charlie, Danny, and Alicia for the first time. Lying in a rusty old truck they slept and he retreated into his vision. Oddly frantic, this premonition was a jumble of snapshot moments. Kids, unrecognizable in the state that they were in, were dying. They were Shop victims; that was all that he knew. Screams and pain emanated from the images. The unbearable ferocity of fear and pain filled him wholly. A heat suddenly set in on him from everywhere, choking him. He heard screams slowly weaken, becoming moans and then harsh breaths. He, himself, gasped trying to take in that rancid air, but was smothered by the heat's intensity. As he struggled through one last frenzied breath he realized that death was there, reeking of decay. He awoke from the terror with a desperate intake of cool mountain air. A sign confirmed that they were passing through the mountains, getting close to the California border.

That had been his first premonition from another's point of view, but rather than dwell in the fear he found inspiration. They were going to stop this future for any and all Shop victims. There have been more dreams: dreams of other kids, kids he knew he would meet as they went along the necessary path and each one led to the same target; death was going to lose a lot of souls. Kyle would make sure of it.

Britney

In her dreams there was always music. There always had been. Night was a rhapsody, a symphony, and a concerto all at once. There used to be more, though. Defined lines accompanied brassy fanfares. Colors would meld as tones emerged from one another. Light shone in flashes and waves that danced to the lull and fierceness of sound. Back then there was more. Now the music still played. It would never leave; however, it was all that was left.

She still remembered the beginning. Not the very beginning—that was a blur of random facts, but she remembered the beginning of this nightmare. Ironically it began with her waking up. She was in the cursed cell that represented her new limits. She could barely open her eyes, but as much as it hurt to open them she felt the same amount of pain trying to keep them closed. Only in sleep did she find relief. That too became torture, though. She finally grasped the horrible truth. She was blind. Darkness encased her and all that was left was the music. With time, though she found something new in her head. Not exactly sight, but an odd sense of location. She knew where things were, but it wasn't seeing anything, more like hearing it.

They told her it was called psycho-location. They told her she would be fine. They told her a lot of things, but they wouldn't say who they were. The most information was a name. The Shop. She wasn't alone, though, and for that she was grateful. In the next cage sat Parker. The first day there she saw him; his messy and unruly blonde hair, glasses over soft blue eyes and a ridiculously orange shirt. That was the last time she saw him. He was quiet a lot, but when he spoke it was with a deliberate tenor voice tinged in cynicism. His talking was very rare, though. They called his power Sensory Tatters. Basically he could pick up thoughts and senses from others. She didn't understand it very well, but then again, she didn't understand a lot of things that happened in their new quarters. The horrible thing was that it was all that she had now. All her experiences and her entire existence were now nothing more than the dimensions of her cage and the lab where their powers were tested. She was little more than a lab rat. She even had her maze to get through. She always half expected to be awarded a slice of cheese. It was humiliating.

She wanted to be anywhere but there, but more than anything, she wanted to be in an old dream. Where she didn't just see, but where she saw the fantastic come to life. Unfortunately, she was stuck in this farce of a life.

Zach

There was a surprise waiting for him in the night's dream. It wasn't the darkness. He had expected it, known it would be there. It wasn't the darkness that he feared. It was the light. It had never been there before.

Of course it might not be there now. It was a dream after all. Maybe it was his imagination, because no matter where he turned it was always in the same center of his sight. A small ray. Then the voices came. Low murmurs filled his head. Voices from faces he couldn't recognize—didn't want to recognize. This time, though, they grew stronger. Still unknown and still strange to him, but with a growing familiarity. As he listened the light began to grow.

"Zach…"

"Zach…"

"Zach, help me…"

"Zach!"

As the last staccato burst of sound ended he realized that he was the source of light. The brilliance almost hurt as it expanded to its luminescent ferocity. He saw everything now. Kenzi, her long dark hair falling over almond shaped eyes and a small smile that seemed to say, "Why not?" Harvey standing with that smug look of contempt plastered on his face, his arms crossed. Michelle hung back, quiet and watchful with a never-ending calm to her. Will was last, staring angrily but at the same time envious. He wanted to be the light, but wasn't and was therefore dependant. They were the voices, but although they seemed normal there was something wrong. As he tried to focus the light faded. Voices became whispers and whispers in turn became silence.

Zach woke up in his cell, around him the others slept without his worries He sighed, slowly rubbing his temples and pushing back dark brown hair. He lay back blinking at the ceiling for a moment and then let himself sink into the darkness, glad that there was no light. No gleam or shimmer, only quiet murmurs to accompany the darkness.


	16. Volume II, Dreamers Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Firestarter is the property of Stephen King. The characters in this story are all mine, except for Charlie, who I'm borrowing for this story. If you're at this chapter you've read quite a bit of my writing, so please review and thnks!

Parker

There is nothing safer than the unreality of dreams. That's what Parker had always thought. Dreams weren't only an escape from the real, but also a chance for endless possibilities and fantasies to come to life. When he first woke up in that cell, he thought it was a dream. That was the one reality that seemed more unbelievable than any dream. The random thoughts and feelings were extremely weird and left him thinking he was crazy at first. His mind was pretty much an antenna. He would pick up on an occasional thought or overwhelming emotion. It got very annoying, definitely, but he always felt worse for Britney, who he knew was dealing with something much worse.

He still remembered the time his power had gotten through to Britney. He'd been reading through the few books that the Shop had allowed them. Suddenly he was thrust into darkness. Nearby Britney's scream made him think that the lights overhead had gone off. As the minutes passed the darkness began to flash on and off, eventually revealing the brightly lit room, and a lab professor quickly rushing through towards Britney, whose screams continued. Random thoughts clued Parker in.

--_What's happening?_

_-It shouldn't be this extreme this early…_

_--My eyes!_

_-They said loss of sight was a possibility…_

_--Please…_

That incident challenged Parker's dream theory. His nightmares were filled with blind grasps at the unknown. He could no longer expect anything from his dreams. In the next cage he saw the few things that scattered themselves on Britney's floor. She was still in the lab. He had just returned from his own shot at the lab. He had been placed in front of three different men, and his job was to get as much information about the men as possible. It was all trivial. Marital status, jobs, any random thoughts. What really interested him though was something that he overheard the doctor running the lab think. He only got a few words, but it was enough to get him thinking.

_-This could ruin everything… Coburn's mistakes… escaping…_

Valentine

He didn't dream. He wasn't sure if it was because of everything that had happened to him, or if he had never dreamed. Besides, he didn't sleep much anyway. Dreaming would be pointless. He had to focus on what was going on right now, and right now they were nearing the end of empty fields. The occasional building meant it was time to leave that dusty old truck. He woke up the others and when it felt it safest and like the truck was at the slowest it would be, they jumped.

He was instantly on his feet and he saw the rest carefully get up. Kyle and Ben helped Katie stand and Jennifer and Ricky quickly stood at his sides. Between them all the girl who they now knew as Ali spread out the pale brown wings that jutted from her shoulders in what could have been the work of nature. As she did this he observed that she had a set of sharp-looking talons where nails should have been. He looked down and stared at his own claws. It almost mad him feel normal.

When everyone was up and ready they turned to him. Now that Charlie was gone, he was again the leader. It wasn't a position he looked forward to, but he knew someone had to take it. They looked at him expectantly. "Let's start walking," he said almost zombie-like. They all nodded in agreement or at least acceptance and started onward. Not long after they started though, Kyle asked something that had been bugging him too.

"What are we going to do with everyone?" They all stopped walking and looked at him for an easy answer.

"I'm not sure yet" Valentine answered honestly.

Kyle continued, "Well, we already have a group of 7 kids. It's going to look suspicious when we keep growing."

Valentine stood still, thinking. Finally, he stated as authoritatively as he could, "Let's just keep walking." He was sure they'd stay there staring at him, but they just kept going. There was definitely something to being leader.

Alicia

She couldn't trust her dreams anymore. Everything was always changing. Dreams posed as nightmares, and vice versa. The paths she followed in dreams became loose and kept disappearing underfoot. All forks in the road led to the same place, and still she could never decide which one to take. If anything, though, her dreams made her appreciate reality. Not what was happening, but where it happened. She saw the ocean for the first time as they made their way north not far from the coast. They'd be leaving California for Washington, where Charlie said the next shop would be. It was late night and the ocean was dark and infinite, with a salty and fresh smell that wavered to the car that they "rented" with her power. Shortly after she fell asleep, dreaming of an endless ocean, not black, but a pristine and crystal blue. The water shone and sparkle and she felt a strong sense of happiness. In the center, however, she saw a small dot of red. More and more began appearing and each one started to spread out. The happiness soon became dread as she realized that the gleaming surface was in fact shards of broken glass. She woke up crying and instantly felt arms around her. She leaned into Danny and just sat quietly, not wanting to go back to sleep.


	17. Volume II, Dreamers Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Firestarter is not mine.**

Kyle

They stopped no more than a mile from the city, in a desert-like setting, with bits of chola and dry brush strewn about the sun baked ground. It was almost funny—the way they stopped. Valentine had been quiet for so long since Kyle had asked him about the others that they had been too surprised by his sudden stop to realize that they were all still walking in a row that quickly became a mass of limbs and grunts.

"We can't all go in there." Valentine said startled by a recent thought. From where they stood they could see the outline of a few small buildings and one immensely tall one.

"What?" Katie asked.

Valentine seemed uncomfortable as he answered, "Well, we won't all exactly fit in." He looked cautiously at Ali, whose wings were gently folded behind her back, yet extremely visible. She looked down and they all understood. Chaos would follow if anyone else saw her.

Ricky quickly spoke up. "I'll stay here." Jennifer followed suit and so they walked back a few feet with Ali, to where they wouldn't be spotted easily, and the others made their way into the small city. The files they found said the Shop would be in the basement of the tall building in the city's center. It wasn't very hard to find and was completely deserted.

"The perfect spot," Kyle said. They made their way through the buildings stairs going down, for what seemed forever. Despite the dry heat they faced outside, it seemed like it was getting cooler the further they went on. Further on the steps became a long hallway gradually becoming more and more high tech as they went on. Kyle felt himself become slightly lightheaded as they went on. He had been through way too much in the last couple of days, even in his new standard, he thought. Finally, after one more turn they reached a huge set of doors.

"You know," mentioned Katie, "Every time we open doors… well… it's never good." and she drifted off. He heard Valentine chuckle slightly, but it seemed to come from far away. He felt the lightheadedness come back and he stumbled. No one seemed to notice, though, because Ben had opened the door and inside they saw a huge and heavily mechanical cylinder in the center and in a cage next to it a very surprised girl.

They didn't see Kyle fall, and not until the girl screamed did they even notice he was out cold. Kyle didn't experience any of this, though. He was in a premonition seconds before he hit the ground. Instead he saw a dimly lit room. Around him he felt a sudden lack of noise and there was an instant wariness as he stood up.

Britney

"What do you mean _they're _afraid?" she almost shouted. "What are they afraid of? They aren't the ones being experimented on!" Parker had just told her what he heard from his time in the lab. Apparently the Shop was afraid of escape and had to do with some guy in particular. Coburn.

"I don't know," replied Parker. "They did all seem very nervous about something though."

Britney sat for a long while taking things in slowly. She let herself calm down. In that state she could sense everything in the room. The few things scattered on the floor. The sets of wires that went along the walls of the room. It was all pretty much one huge machine. She felt Parker, his slow and calm breathing evident as his body rose and fell every time he inhaled and exhaled, and he seemed to meld with the room. It all became one huge being, that even she was a part of.

Finally she spoke again. "So what does this mean?"

"It means that this whole mess is getting out of hand for them." Parker answered with strong feeling.

Overhead the sound of static signaled the loudspeakers. "Get to bed," the voice crackled, distorted by electricity. To her right she felt the door open and her power stretched itself into the adjoining room. She sensed the movement of many people. It was rushed and awkward. In the center of the new area was a huge mass of wires and smooth edges. It didn't last long, though, as the door closed behind a lab tech.

"I want you two to get to bed now," he said in a soft, but gruff voice. "There are big plans for tomorrow, so I don't want to hear you guys talking."

He quickly left, and after a few confused minutes Britney asked, "Did you get anything from him?"

"He's scared," Parker whispered. She mulled over this before she was overtaken by the tremendous sensation of sleepiness that came from the lullaby her surroundings provided. The quiet hum of the electronics and the occasional beeping was almost homey.

Zach

"So, Lightbulb, how'd it go?"

Zach walked into his cage, ignoring the comment, but it only kept up.

"Come on, Zach, how many watts did you get this time?"

Zach looked up and saw that smug sneering smirk on Will's face. The most annoying thing in the world. Worse than the whole situation. Ever since he first woke up in the cell Will had been blowing up in his face. That first time, literally blowing up the cot next to him. That seemed like forever ago though. It felt like they had been stuck there for years. Yet, Will still insisted on arguing with him over everything. It didn't matter that they were part of some secret agenda, or a crazy experiment. They were constantly at each other's throats.

The whole situation was bad enough already. They were part of some huge experiment. They had been given some kind of power. He could take in energy and turn it into light. He glared at Will, who was still laughing at his "wit." He could produce chemicals in each hand that, when together, could produce explosions. In the next cage Harvey congratulated Will. He could create high frequency sound waves. Michelle sat quietly in the back, retreated from all of them, just watching with silent wonder. She could create up to 3 copies of herself. Finally, in the cage next to his sat Kenzi, a small frown on her face, her almond shaped eyes covered by the strands of hair that she was constantly brushing from in front of her face. She could take energy from one source and channel it towards another.

At least Will had never taken it much further than words.

"Hey, Zach. I'm talking to you!" Will shouted from the cage.

"Don't listen to him, Zach, he's just being stupid," offered Kenzi, staring at Will with cold eyes.

"Yeah, Zach," Will continued. "I'm just being stupid! Come on, aren't you gonna do something?"

In the background Zach heard Harvey snickering; a true crony. In the far back Michelle stood up and got closer, a shade of doubt falling over her.

"Oh wait!" Will was relentless now. "That's right! You can't do anything, can you? All you're good for is replacing a bulb."

"Shut up, Will." Zach said, his lip trembling. He never got angry, but Will had never gone this long before.

"Come on Will, just leave him alone." Kenzi said.

"Leave him alone? But he's so much fun to mess with." Will snarled, really getting into character now. "Besides he can't do anything about it. Right Zach? You couldn't even save Kylie, could you?"

Kenzi gasped and almost fell over. "Shut up, Will!"

Now Zach's eyes glazed over. He could always disregard anything that Will said, but that last part was true. A while back the lab guys here had tried something different. They wanted to test out their powers in a new way. A while back there was one more person in their mismatched group. Kylie was Kenzi's sister. Not only that, but she was Kenzi's twin and she shared her sister's power.

The lab techs told them that to test out the variety of their powers they were going to test them out in practice against each other. They were warned before hand that any use of their power was to be limited towards getting whatever objective they were given, done, but from the beginning they saw a flash of wickedness in the smile on Will's face. Their first test was to get in teams, each protecting a small sphere. Their job was to steal the ball from the other side. It was a mutated game of Capture the Flags.

Will, of course, was with Harvey and evening them out was Michelle. Zach was with Kylie and Kenzi. It went well at first. They were pretty evenly matched and each had an equal amount of wins over the other. Will, however, became incredibly competitive. He and Harvey began using their powers outwardly on the others trying to cause pain. More than that, his demeaning shouts began to drive Zach towards his own competitiveness. Finally in one test Zach snapped. He was going to win.

"Kenzi, Kylie, go for Harvey, I'll take Will! Go!" he barked out, eager to get rid of Will's eternal smirk. Kenzi and her sister eyed him carefully but nodded and began. He ran around chasing Will dodging explosions and clones. In his peripheral vision he caught glances of his team keeping Harvey back. He himself shot out blasts of light confusing Will. In the last seconds of the event everything went into a mix of slow motion and high speed blurs. He sent out the biggest flash of light that he could which ended in a somewhat blind Will, he ran around him racing for the ball that would end the test, he turned to see Will's face and saw him send out blow after blow of explosions everywhere. When he looked around he saw Kenzi and Kylie on the ground next to a smiling Harvey. A couple feet away 2 Michelle's quickly became one very guilty Michelle. On explosion landed directly above them and Harvey's smile turned into a look of horror as he backed up slowly, gradually turning it into a run. Zach stopped and quickly ran towards Kylie and Kenzi; above them a hunk of metal teetered back and forth over the now charred piece of wood holding it up. Michelle stood only for a few seconds before collapsing, instantly out. As he got to them he picked up Kenzi.

"Harvey! Help me, I can't get them both!" Harvey, however, was looking up, his mouth agape. Nearby, Will sat on the ground rubbing his eyes, still without sight. "Help!" Zach shouted, knowing that the Shop men were watching them the whole time. "Help! Please!" He ran as fast as he could, with Kenzi in his arms. When they were far enough away, he put her down and turned to Kylie. He ran faster than he had before to reach her. She lay there, breathing quietly, her pale face a mirror image of Kenzi, but with a much shorter set of hair that bunched around her head like a pillow. He was almost there when she opened her eyes and saw him running towards her. She smiled slightly, until she turned to look up. The wood made an awful crack, letting the metal go. He was almost there.

Kylie's last words were "Zach, help me…"

As Zach remembered the day, tears came to his eyes. He should have been faster. He should have let Will win. They were all looking at him now.

"Come on, Will," started Harvey. "Let the crybaby alone."

"Shut up…" Zach whispered.

"What was that?" Will asked.

"I said, 'Shut up!'" Zach shouted. Over head a panel of lights exploded.

"Zach…" Kenzi began.

"No, Kenzi. He needs to know when to be quiet."

"Oh do I?" Will spat.

"Yeah you do." Zach spat back.

"Fine then, How's this?" he said and flicked his wrists at Zach sending out a liquid like substance that blew up a part of his cage. He did it again and again until both he and Zach were no longer in cages. A lab tech came in but when he saw the look on Will's face he quickly left. Michelle was now gripping the bars tightly and Kenzi was back on her toes.

"Don't be stupid Will." Kenzi said, staring at him again.

Will ignored her and flicked his wrists once more, aiming straight at Zach. Nothing happened. Again and again he tried but nothing happened. "What's gong on," he asked in confusion. Zach saw the answer when he looked at Kenzi again. She was channeling Will's energy away from him. Will, however, noticed too.

"Kenzi! Stop that now!" Will shouted.

Kenzi was almost shaking. Obviously Will was trying very hard to hold onto his power. "No, Will." She said shakily.

"Kenzi!" Will shouted running at her.

"No!" Zach shouted at Will. A bright light flashed in front of the whole room. It ended in a horrifying boom.

**So, Zach's part grew kind of long, but I wanted it all down before I started the next chapter. Hope its ok. Review please and thanks again to Kar-zid and Marner. Please don't be afraid to mention any problems I kind of typed this up in a rush.**


	18. Volume II, Dreamers Chapter 17

Here is another one

**Here is another one. Sorry that it's so late. I was in Mexico for 2 and a half weeks. Then I had to move in to my college dorm thing. I'm all settled now, though, and have a few free days so hopefully I'll get a nice chunk typed and in. Thanks again to Kar-zid and Marner. I know it's been a while, so I'm just going to state that Parker's entry **_**is**_** also Kyle's premonition. If it hadn't taken so long it might be easier to see that the beginning of Parker's entry is almost word for word the end of Kyle's.**

Parker

When he woke up it looked like he was in a completely different room. Instead he saw a dimly lit room. Around him he felt a sudden lack of noise and there was an instant wariness as he stood up.

The usual noise of the machines was gone. He tried searching for any thoughts, but all he could get was bits of Britney's calm state of sleep. After a quick survey, however he found something very strange and almost alarming. His cage was unlocked. He fumbled in the darkness and managed to get out, arms outstretched to ward off any unseen obstacles.

"Britney!" he whispered loudly. "Britney"

"Yeah?" came Britney's very drowsy voice. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," answered Parker, "but you better get up; something's going on. Everything is turned off and the doors are unlocked."

He heard the quiet rustling which meant she had gotten up, followed by the swoosh of her own door opening.

"Why is it so quiet?" she asked cautiously.

"Everything is off. All the machines, the lights, and whatever kept the doors of our cages locked…" he answered. "Do you think that means the other doors are unlocked?" he added with a newfound curiosity.

"Let's find out," she replied.

He heard her footsteps slowly move away from him and then the sound of a door opening. "I guess they are," she said matter-of-factly.

"Wait!" he shouted. "I can't see anything."

"What?" she asked, confused by this statement.

"All the lights are off. You have your power, but I can't see a thing." He said, realizing that although he had seen her as someone who needed defending, before, she was actually really strong.

He heard her slowly get closer and then when she was right next to her she linked their arms together. They walked like this through the doors and into the lab where they would normally be tested. It was just as empty and quiet as their original room and as dark. Parker felt Britney suddenly move away. After a few seconds he heard a door being opened and Britney shouted. "I think I found a light switch!"

"Britney?" he asked now very aware of his lack of sight.

"Just a second." She said lightly. He heard a quiet _flick _followed by rapid whirring coming from the walls. Then a boom followed by the lights. As he adjusted to the light he realized that the door had closed in between him and Britney. He heard a robotic voice speaking. "Good day Dr. Fisher."

"Britney?" He asked running to the door only to find it locked again. "Britney?" he shouted now. In response came the robotic voice.

"Britney exam activated. Maze-23h4b now being established for current time, 2:55 PM. August 10th 2006. Lab number 3A, Alcatraz Island."

He looked around and saw pieces of the floor moving and new walls being made from the current ones. He moved around trying to avoid the rising walls creating a maze. This must be what Britney's tests were like. Finally the noise became just loud enough to be heard. The maze was ready. Overhead the robotic voice returned.

"Maze set. Time started. T-minus 15 minutes until gas is released."

Parker looked around wildly. Gas? 15 minutes? Did Britney go through this every day?

Valentine

When the girl screamed he thought she was just surprised. Only when she pointed at Kyle did he realize what had happened. He instantly turned to Katie and was relieved to see that she was fine. He had suddenly remembered their first time barging into a lab and the Katie/Kyle thing. Now though, he looked to Kyle. Ben was already at Kyle's side and Katie was just behind him.

"He looks ok?" Ben stated with some concern.

"I think it's a premonition…" Katie said recognizing the look on his face.

"But he wasn't asleep," said Valentine.

"I know," said Katie suddenly more worried than before.

They were quiet for a long while and then they seemed to remember that they weren't alone. The girl was gaping and next to her a noise like a hushed gasp came from the metallic cylinder. Valentine slowly stepped up to it and realized that inside was a boy very close to his age with dark hair sticking up in odd waves.

"Who are you?" asked the girl.

Ben stepped up and spoke. "We're here to help you. Both of you."

Valentine neared the cage and as he shredded through it added, "We're also like you. The girl seemed suspicious but as soon as she was out she seemed a lot more amiable. "But what about Cesar?" she asked. Valentine looked at the metal encasement and found it wasn't made of anything to strong and quickly had it in shreds. Outside of his own cage Cesar stretched out.

"I'm Dawn." The girls said. "And this is Cesar," she added pointing to the boy next to her.

Valentine quickly introduced himself and the others wanting to return to Kyle, but was interrupted by Ben who asked, "What are your powers?"

The girl again answered for the 2 of them. "I can heal myself and Cesar can teleport himself."

"He can teleport?" asked Valentine with interest. "Then why hasn't he gone from here?"

"That's what his cage was for. He couldn't teleport out of it for some reason…" answered Dawn.

"But he can teleport now?" came a hushed voice from behind them.

They looked back to see Kyle half up from the floor and staring intently at Cesar. Cesar looked back at Dawn and then disappeared. Behind to the left of the there was a soft hum followed by Cesar's reappearance.

"Kyle," Katie asked, worriedly, "what did you see?"

"I'm not sure exactly. I wasn't myself. I was in another lab and there was a girl and I was trapped in a maze." Then he added with instant alertness. "What time is it?" Dawn looked up to the wall and pointed to a clock hanging from it. "2:55. Why?"

Kyle's face went very intense and he turned to Cesar. "How far can you teleport?" Around him, confusion clouded the faces of the others.

"I'm not sure," Cesar said. "I teleported from a lab in Texas to the desert outside of here, but that's where they caught me. I've never been allowed to go far after that."

"What's going on?" Katie asked.

"Someone has to get to California. Alcatraz Island. He's going to die." Kyle said rapidly and in one long breath.

"California?" Valentine asked in shock?

"We have less than ten minutes! Cesar do you think you can make it?" Kyle asked.

"Maybe. I can try." He responded.

"Can you take someone with you?" Kyle asked with a stolen glance at the clock.

"No!" Cesar shouted. "It doesn't work."

Kyle grabbed his head and tried to think. Someone had to go with Cesar. Maybe he could use Cesar's power like he used Katie's before. "Cesar, how do you use your power?"

Katie turned towards Kyle. "Kyle, you can't think that you can do this."

"I did it with you. Someone has to go with Cesar, and I'm the one who knows what's happening." Then turning to Cesar, "How do you do it?"

Cesar looked confused, but answered. "You just think of the place and kind of push yourself forward with your mind."

"Ok. We've got to go fast. You start and I'll follow." Kyle ordered. Cesar looked at him almost as if to try and understand a mad man's rambling, but found a human sentimentality in Kyle's eyes that left him assured. "Ok."

Kyle watched Cesar leave and turned to the others. "I'll be fine. I'll try and come back as soon as possible. Don't worry." With that he closed his eyes and thought _Alcatraz Island_. When he opened them again he was in yet a different place. Around him were cages and his first thought was that he was in another lab, but he quickly realized that he was instead in the infamous prison. From ahead he heard a voice.

"Hello?" came Cesar's voice. This was quickly followed by a shout and Kyle hurried forward to find a gaping hole in the floor of the next hallway. It led to a large metallic room and inside he found Cesar lying unconscious on the ground. Next to him stood a girl, her eyes closed but her head turned up to him. "Are you Britney?" Kyle asked.

"Why?" she asked defensively. "What do you want?"

"We've come to help someone. He's trapped in there." Kyle said pointing to a door in the room. "He only has a few minutes left."

"How do you know about us?" Britney asked half in hope and half in fear.

"I'll explain later." Kyle assured her. He then closed his eyes again and thought of that labyrinth of a room from his vision. A sudden ambush of sound filled his head. "Help!" Came a voice that Kyle recognized from his vision. Meanwhile a cold and neutral voice counted down the time. "4 minutes and 59 seconds. ."

Kyle looked around in fear and tried to decide on which way to turn. _Where do I go? Which way?_ He thought. Then he heard the trapped guy. Parker. "Hello." Parker shouted. "Is someone there?"

"Yes. Where are you?" Kyle shouted back.

"I don't know. Please the place is going to be gassed I think." Parker replied.

_This is going to be impossible. _Kyle thought. How could he get through this and find Parker. Overheard time rang out. "2 Minute warning. 119. 118. 117. 116." This was ridiculous. Kyle closed his eyes and pushed. He opened them and saw that he was in another passage of the maze, but there was still no Parker.

"Parker. Keep shouting." He said closing his eyes once more, and hearing Parker's voice to his left pushed again. He opened his eyes and saw nothing. Again he closed his eyes. When he reappeared he not only heard the countdown but felt it as the room shook with every new and lower number. "." It was impossible to hear Parker over the sudden noise from the room.

Kyle closed his eyes again and again, now consistently going to the left, with no guide. "Parker!" He shouted every time he reappeared. But the numbers were all that he had as response. His head was pounding as he went from hall to hall. Then he felt a warm liquid falling on his lip. He reached up and found blood. His head continued to pulse and he was growing tired. Finally he opened his eyes and saw someone. Blonde hair and an orange shirt caught his eyes and he let out a small utterance of thanks. Then he heard the countdown continue. "9. 8. 7." Parker turned around, his face distorted with fear. His lips moved but there was no sound besides the grumbling of the room and crisp metallic sound of numbers. "5. 4. 3." Kyle ran towards Parker in a sudden rush of fear and adrenaline. "2." He tackled Parker to the ground and held tight. "1." Then he closed his eyes. "Time up. Gas relea…"

Alicia

They had been driving for a long while now. She was growing tired and from the sound the others made in the car she could guess that they were restless. She repositioned herself and the arm on her shoulder fell. She turned and saw that Danny had fallen asleep. She yawned and stretched, and then asked, "How much further until we get there," to Charlie. Charlie looked back and said, "It won't be much longer. Try to sleep. You'll need your strength when we get there."

Alicia nodded and looked out the window to the passing cities. She closed her eyes, telling herself that she didn't want to sleep. She would be better off awake, but a sudden drowsiness took over and she fell to the powers of sleep. She was lucky. There was no dream this time. She slept calmly and didn't stir for a long time. All of a sudden there was an immense and fantastic boom. She opened her eyes in time to behold a brilliant flash of light encompassing the entire city before her. She had no idea what was going on, but Charlie seemed to be all to happy to see this. She kept her eyes on the road but shouted back. "Everyone stay alert. This is it." They drove but the traffic soon halted as officials flooded the area. Everyone wanted to know what was going on.

"Everyone get out of the car!" Charlie growled flinging the driver door open. "Alicia, we need cover!"

Alicia concentrated and suddenly everything became an odd and distorted version of itself. It was like watching the outside through a stain-glass window. It meant no one could see them. They walked on through the crowd of curious passersby and man eating news reporters. Finally they reached a long yellow tape set up around a large rubble filled space. People stared with necks craned to see what had happened. Katie and her group moved unseen through the crowd and past the tape where they found the remains of what was definitely a lab. The victims ranged from men in coats to guards in their uniforms. Their bodies lay torn and shredded from what must have been a powerful blast. Whoever had caused it must have been powerful. It seemed like the same idea had occurred to Charlie because she was suddenly smiling. They looked around trying to find the right victims and hoping that they had survived the ordeal.

From the center of the destruction Erin, the girl who could become invisible called out. When they gathered around they saw what was left of a girl. Her blonde hair was almost grey from the dust of the accident and her arms were stained in blood. The rest of her body was covered by bits of rubble. Alicia groaned and let herself fall against Danny. Behind them a police man was carrying another body. She couldn't tell if it was alive or not until she saw that a whole arm was missing. From her point of view she saw the long black hair hanging over the police man's arms. Then the cop readjusted the body and the face rolled towards her almost staring with almond eyes. She closed her eyes but only saw those eyes multiplied a billion fold within her mind. They were the only bodies found. Charlie seemed angry that they hadn't found anyone. They found a cheap motel and went to sleep.


	19. V2, Dreamers Chapter 18

**The next installment. I just spent some time looking over the entire thing and it made me very happy, because I could see a huge difference between my last chapters and the first ones. That's just me. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and strongly considered, though. I'm thinking about going back and touching up on the original chapters because they're pretty short. I won't change any plot, just add detail and work on the parts that seemed—off. Anyway those are just ideas. I may just wait and finish the story first. Ok. Enough rambling.**

**Kyle **

It had been a sudden impulse that threw him towards Parker; lost within the sounds around him he had no idea what he was doing when he closed his eyes. Around him time stopped and so did sound. For a few seconds he was in a space of infinite emptiness, and he felt nothing. No throbbing, no pain, no anything. Only the arms that desperately held onto him when he disappeared. It didn't last long, though. He soon found himself falling onto a hard floor, cold metal against his face, and sound resumed. Britney's scream was a combination that embodied the whole range of human emotion. There was fear, relief, amazement, and strong doubt. The sound of the current room was a medley of beeps and ticks coming from the machines set up elaborately around the room. On a small wooden desk that seemed almost to deny the room's technological advancement with its plain simplicity lay Cesar, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. Kyle looked around the room, still on the ground and now with an incredibly forceful headache that must have come from overusing Cesar's power. He found it weird that Britney was kneeling over him, but he soon realized that he was still holding onto Parker with a grip that surprised him in its strength. He quickly let go, slightly embarrassed, and turned Parker over. Kyle stood up and went to check on Cesar while Britney tended to Parker.

Cesar seemed ok. He was breathing steadily now and seemed to be sleeping. Behind him he heard Britney sigh, almost with relief. He turned back and saw Parker lift himself into a sitting position. Parker looked around and coughed out, "Your nose!" Kyle felt his face and found that there was still a trickling of blood. He looked around and, not finding anything, he ripped off a piece of sleeve to wipe at the crimson drops and stains. After a few minutes he decided that the blood had stopped sufficiently and threw away the fabric. Parker had stood up and was now walking towards him with Britney.

"So, why are you here?" Britney asked, obviously eager to receive an explanation, and wary of anything that could be a danger to both her and Parker.

"We were also a part of whatever this place is doing," answered Kyle. "Except, we come from other labs. These people have been working all over the country. A group of others and me from a lab in another city escaped recently and have been trying to get to other labs."

"So you're 'Coburn's mistakes?'" Parker asked remembering what he heard from the lab people.

"'Coburn's mistakes?'" Kyle asked with concern.

"The people here were worried about what was happening. They thought it had to do with some guy named Coburn and some escaped people."

"Coburn was in charge of our lab." Kyle said, realizing that their escape must have reached other labs around the country.

"So what are you doing here?" Britney asked again.

"Well, that's a long story," Kyle started. "We were originally just escaping from our own lab, but then—then we met up with Charlie." Kyle paused here and a frown came over his face. Obviously Parker and Britney noticed because they quickly glanced at each other and Parker asked, "Who's Charlie."

Kyle stayed quiet for a few more seconds before continuing. "Charlie helped us out when we first escaped from the lab. She wanted to train us so that we could help her get to the other labs and stop the Shop."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Parker asked.

"We thought so," Kyle answered remembering their first encounter with Charlie. "We thought she could help us, but in the end it became obvious that she didn't want to just save the other kids being experimented on, but that she was looking to take revenge with no caution or mercy. She left us, but a few from our group left with her. We've been trying to get to the labs before her."

"So that's why you came here? To try and recruit us?" Britney asked, offended by the idea.

"No!" Kyle replied. "That's not it at all. We came here to help. I had a vision of what was happening to Parker and so we came."

"Is that your power?" Britney asked.

"Kind of. I can take in energy. That means sometimes I'll see visions of the future and I can use other people's powers. That's how I could teleport. It's Cesar's power."

"Cesar?" Britney asked.

Kyle pointed to the body on the bed.Britney turned her head towards Cesar, and Kylerealized that her eyes were closed. In fact they had been closed the entire time. He tried to remember the details of his premonition and remembered something that Parker had said. _"You have your power but I can't see a thing."_ "What is your power," Kyle asked Britney.

She turned back towards him and said, "It's called psycho-location. I can sense location around me, so long as there is nothing in the way."

Kyle looked at Parker, and Parker responded, "Mine is called Psycho-tatters. I can hear pieces of what people are thinking and feel strong emotions from those around me."

Britney quickly spoke up again. "So, you want us to come with you and help you. Right?"

Kyle nodded, hoping that this meant they were willing to come. "Can you give us a few minutes?" Britney asked. Kyle nodded once more and moved away, hearing them start to talk in whispers.

**Britney**

She didn't like this. Kyle seemed nice enough, but she didn't exactly trust him. He had completely come out of the blue. Him and Cesar. Besides, the idea of going around and trying to get people on your "side" seemed very much like superhero stuff. This was not something that they wanted and the way that Kyle used his powers made him seem a bit reckless.

"What do you think?" Britney asked Parker.

"I don't know," he said. "They seem like they're telling the truth, but I'm not sure if I want to join some group like his. I'm better on my own."

Britney felt a little hurt by the last part. "Right," she agreed.

They turned back to Kyle and she spoke out. "Thank you for helping Parker and for coming, but I don't think that we can go with you."

She could see that Kyle was not expecting to hear that. "What?" he asked.

Parker answered this time. "We just don't agree with what it is that you are doing. We really are grateful for what you did. Me especially. I would have died if it weren't for you. We just think that because of the circumstances we're going to head off on our own."

Kyle seemed to be in shock at hearing this, but from behind him Cesar spoke in reason. "We can't make them do what they don't want to do. In the end it's their choice." Britney hadn't even heard him get up. "Let's just get out of here and then you guys can head off where you want to," he added.

"Thank you," Britney said.

Parker spoke out. "But how are we supposed to get out of here?" Kyle looked up and they all turned their heads to stare at the gaping hole that Cesar had originally come through.

Kyle answered further by saying, "I was able to teleport Parker out of the maze, so if I take one of you and Cesar takes the other we should be good." Cesar seemed to have heard something wrong in what Kyle had said because his face changed and he said with anger. "I told you that I couldn't teleport anyone!"

Kyle turned red and spoke, "I know, but there was no choice. I didn't even know what I was doing, and now we know that it works."

Cesar's response was again furious. "No! We don't!"

Parker seemed to get a thought from Cesar because he asked, "Who's Angie?"

Cesar seemed suddenly different. His eyes became dark and his lip trembled. "When I first tried to teleport out of my first lab—Angie was there with me. She…" he trailed off and Britney didn't want to know what he was going to say next. After a moment though, he recomposed himself and started again. "She was going to escape with me. I was going to teleport both of us out. When I teleported she…" again he stopped; his voice faltering and he turned around to finish. "I teleported us. I closed my eyes and teleported. When I opened my eyes I was in the desert. I was in that desert and I felt free. I was free. I thought we were both free of that stupid place! I looked at her, in my arms and… and... I was holding onto her and her face seemed to look up at me, but… I don't know what happened. There was something that went wrong. She wasn't all there." He was openly sobbing now and Britney felt tears forming. "I had teleported myself but only her upper body was there. I fell to the floor and let go. It was horrible. She had a face that was actually filled with joy. She had died in that second of joy and freedom, her body torn in two, mid-teleportation. I threw up there in that desert. My freedom lasted all of a moment. That's where they found me. It was from there that they took me to Dawn's lab. She doesn't even know about Angie." He looked at Parker with eyes, shining with the remains of tears. "I hadn't heard her name in so long. I had let myself go away from her, and I never let myself remember that." He then turned to Kyle and spoke again. "You were lucky that nothing happened to Parker. Don't ever do it again though."

They were all quiet and Kyle seemed ashamed of himself. Even Parker seemed to feel bad about what had happened. Britney stood quiet for a while longer and then decided. "We'll have to find another way then."

**Zach**

He looked out from behind a building at the destruction that had erupted from within him. He saw the rubble and the debris, the people gathering, with their macabre curiosity, the bodies being removed. He stayed there waiting; hoping that someone would found alive. That maybe Kenzi was ok. That he'd see her face light up again. Instead he saw her body being taken away and an arm was missing! This was not natural. The people in the Shop had made them into monsters. Because of them Kenzi's almond eyes would never open again. He hoped, though, that Michelle would be ok. She was so innocent to everything. She was never involved in any of the arguments that seemed to happen in that lab. She would be ok. It was the hope of a foolish man. He saw the policeman take away the blonde. Her skin was dark with dirt and debris and her normally wispy blonde hair was matted and encrusted with the rubble he had created. The Shop had created them, but he was the one who had done this. He was the responsible one now. Because now the men in there were dead. God showed as much mercy to them as to the innocent. And now he was the one left to live with the guilt. He knew what had happened in there.

Kenzi had taken away the power from Will. That's why Will hadn't been able to blow him up. She should have let him, though. She had instead moved Will's energy. All that power, all of it stemming from Will's perpetual rage, it had all been moved into Zach. Kenzi must have thought he could handle it. Instead he let his own anger at Will escalate and it fueled the power that Will had created. It had been him, Zach, who had blown up. He was the one who killed his friends. He fell to his knees and let himself go. His tears mixed with his blood as he pounded and kicked at everything around him. His cries mixed with his screams as he let himself become insane. All of this was hidden by the sirens coming to take the dead. By the sirens coming to take his friends and enemies. By the sirens that filled the street with their whine.

Finally he stopped. He became calm. There was a line in his mind. It symbolized the sanity he had. He was there at that edge, and he knew it. He stood up and closed his eyes. He knew that anything could push him. Anything now would be enough to send him over the line, but if he closed his eyes and let himself become lost to the world, he would never have to cross it. He could remain there—teetering and barely balanced, but sane. Then he heard a cough.

It was simple enough and should have been lost within the sound of the city's cries, but he heard it. He opened his eyes and saw eyes across the street. They didn't see him but he sure saw them. They were focused on a group that he hadn't seen before; a woman and her group of kids. Those eyes seemed to know something and quickly began to follow the group. Zach instantly followed the eyes, because they had pushed him. The eyes had taken him, not just over the line, but far past it. Into a place he didn't know could exist within the mind. A place where screams were silent and pain came from every sensation. He had been pushed into madness, because they were eyes he knew and it just wasn't fair. These eyes had their sight. These eyes were experiencing life in spite of Kenzi's death. In spite of Michelle and in spite of Kylie these eyes could see. They were the eyes of Harvey and Will and they were still alive. These eyes were now forever embedded in Zach's mind. They had pushed him to insanity.


	20. V2, Dreamers Chapter 19

**So I've been on a bit of a **_**Project: Advancement**_** craze lately and if I get this in by Wednesday that will be 3 chapters up in one week, a personal best. I hope that ya'll like it so far, but if you have suggestions or ideas or complaints or just want to say it sucks please review. Beforehand, though, please read. It helps, I assure you. **

**Parker**

They walked through the halls of the lab in silence. No one wanted to be the first to say anything. He caught random thought every once in a while though.

_-I should just let him go by himself…_

_--What about Ben?_

_--Angie…_

_-He wants to be alone._

_--There's no chance anyway._

_--I shouldn't have let her come._

Parker wasn't exactly sure who thought what, but everyone seemed distracted by their own thoughts. He didn't seem to have anything to think about, though. He walked just as silently, but he kept his mind blank. He was the only who noticed the end of the hall. Everyone else let themselves run straight into the door. Parker struggled to hold back a laugh and everyone else seemed suddenly embarrassed. The door was small and metallic with buttons on the side. It was obviously an elevator. "We're going up, right?" Parker asked reaching for the button. The door slid open and they made their way in. The silence had now become awkward, fueled not by distractive thoughts, but by an inability to say anything of relevance. The only sound was the quiet hum as the elevator went up. As they got off they looked out and saw the cages of the prison.

"Not very different from below, huh?" Britney asked. Parker swallowed seeing the similarities between the prison and their last home. He tried to keep his eyes on the floor as they walked. After a while he felt an arm grasp his shoulder and he stopped.

"Careful! You'll wind up back at the bottom," said Kyle. Parker looked down and saw the hole he had seen from below. They edged their way around the hole and were soon at a last door. They opened it and looked outward. The light was blinding and it took them seconds to adjust. They smelled the fresh air that had been kept from them, and Parker smelled a further difference. The air was almost salty. As their eyes adjusted they looked out at an expanse of water. Next to him Cesar spoke to Kyle. "Alcatraz Island… is an island."



The obviousness of the statement could have been met with laughter if it weren't for its accuracy. "Now what do we do?" Britney asked. They all stared at each other sure that one of them had the answer hidden in the furrows of their face. It turns out one of them did.

Kyle opened his mouth and then suddenly closed it. He did this twice and then looked at Cesar whose face was darkening. Kyle quickly spoke up. "We'll think of something." But Cesar instantly responded. "No. We're going to have to do this." Parker had no idea what they were talking about, but apparently Britney did. Her voice was shaded with compassion when she said, "But we couldn't ask you to go through it." Parker felt completely out of touch with the conversation until he heard it.

_-It's the only way Angie…_

They were going to teleport off the island. He had to admit that after hearing Cesar's story he wasn't very keen on teleporting, but that was nothing compared to what Cesar must be feeling. Kyle spoke out again. "Cesar you don't have to do this."

"I know." Cesar answered. He closed his eyes and started to take deep breaths. He spoke slowly and as if it was taking all his strength just to speak coherently. "Where are we teleporting you to?" he asked Parker and Britney.

Parker hadn't even thought about it. Britney had though, or at least she had an answer. "Just take me into the city. That'll be far enough." He didn't know what she was thinking, but he went with it. "Yeah." He agreed, "Just into the city." He saw Britney's face look at him, or at least turn towards him almost with shock. Cesar and Kyle didn't notice though. Kyle just agreed. "Ok."

Cesar walked up to Britney and stood in front of her, their faces almost touching. His eyes were shining through tears. Britney must have known, because she leaned into him and put her arms around his neck. Parker suddenly realized that he was supposed to hold onto Kyle. He looked sideways at Kyle who had moved up closer to him and Parker felt his cheeks burning. He stiffly moved up to Kyle and grabbed on to him in an awkward style barely holding on. Kyle lightly held onto his arms and then looked at Cesar. They nodded at each other and closed their eyes.

Parker felt the same emptiness as the last time he had teleported. He was no longer worried about Cesar's story. He had nothing to worry about and the only thing that existed to him now, was Kyle. His grip tightened and there was no flush of his face. After a moment, though they were in a small alleyway in the city. Everything came back and he looked around as worry re-entered his mind. Was he ok? It felt like he was all there. Then he looked to the side, fearing the worst. Cesar's story stuck out in his head, but replacing Angie was Britney. He had no idea what would happen if she was hurt. Cesar lowered his arms and moved to reveal Britney, whole and alive. Parker sighed, filled letting go the worry that had come over him. He hadn't 

expected it to be such a strong feeling. They all stood there for a few moments and then Kyle broke the silence. "Well, if you're sure that you don't want to come with us then we'll leave you here. We should be getting back to everyone else." Parker hadn't wanted to go with them, and he was sure that this was something he had to deal with without them, but he didn't really want them to go yet. They had been the first people they had talked to in a long while and they all shared similar fates. He didn't say anything though and watched them close their eyes and disappear. "We're alone again." He said.

**Valentine**

They sat there, worried and waiting for a sign that everything was going ok. It had been a few hours over an hour since Kyle and Cesar had left and around him the others sat quietly. Ben and Dawn were talking in hushed voices to his left and Katie was sitting next to him. They weren't talking, but he was glad that she was there. It wasn't until the clock on the wall read 6:00 and he began to think that they should be getting back to Ricky and the others that Cesar and Kyle appeared, both weary and Kyle with stains of blood just below his nose. Katie was instantly at Kyle's side and Cesar let himself fall into a sitting position next to Dawn and Ben.

"What happened?" Valentine asked. Kyle looked at Cesar and then back to Valentine, before explaining to them that Parker and Britney were ok, but that they didn't want to help them. "We couldn't force them to come," Kyle finished.

"What happened to your nose, though?" Katie asked, seeing the tear in Kyle's sleeve. Her worry increased when he told her, "It happened in the maze when I tried to save Parker. I guess I was over-using Cesar's power, but it was the only way to get to him in time. Katie looked ready to further reprimand Kyle, but Valentine interrupted, "Well, now that you guys are back, I think that we'd better go and get back to Ricky, Jennifer, and Ali."

Dawn looked up at him and said, "Who are they?" Valentine answered, "They're our friends. They escaped with us and are waiting in the desert. So we better go to make sure they're ok and so they know we're fine." They all stood up and Valentine led them out. He thought back to Kyle's question when they first started walking. Their group had just grown to nine. If they kept this up it would be impossible to go anywhere without getting attention. As they left the building they saw that the sky had darkened slightly and that the air was now cooler. Overhead the stars hung high. They walked under them, heading for the area where they had split up. Finally they reached a slight slope and from the top they saw Ricky, Jennifer, and Ali sitting on the dirt, talking. Ricky was the first to notice them and all eyes quickly turned as they walked up.

"Are you guys ok?" Jennifer asked. "We thought that maybe you had run into trouble, like before. We were getting ready to go in after you."

"We're fine," Valentine answered. "We were just distracted." He went into detail about finding Dawn and Cesar and Kyle told them about Parker and Britney. They were stunned that 

Britney and Parker had decided to go alone, but they had to decide what was next. Valentine took out the files from Ali's lab and they looked at the list of Shops on it. "The next closest one would be in Texas." Valentine said blatantly. He had no idea how they would get there or how long it would take. Cesar spoke up though. "There's nothing there. We were…" he got quiet and looked at Kyle, and then started over again, "I was the only one there." Valentine eyed Kyle suspiciously but let it go. "Okay, then we have to go to—Montana… Helena, Montana is probably the closest one to us."

A look of sudden fatigue set on them. Montana was days away if they could get a ride and now they were 9. How would they keep doing this? "I think that we should head north." Valentine said. We don't need to think about Montana yet, but we just need to get into the next city. There we will decide what happens." They all looked at him and even the new additions seemed to realize he was in charge. So they started walking. They walked long into the night and the thought of stopping to make camp was appealing, but something kept them going. Something was pulling them towards that next city. There they found an old motel and after Cesar teleported inside an empty room, to let them in, they crashed, Valentine keeping watch in case someone decided to take the room.

**Alicia**

Charlie was obviously angry. She had been expecting something here, and when she saw the explosion she must have known where it had come from. She had hoped that whoever had caused it, and anyone else there may have survived. The bodies told her otherwise. In the cramped hotel Charlie lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. They all sat around her. Alicia in Danny's arms, was closest and spread out on the chairs and sofas that decorated the dumpy area sat Erin, Chris, and Nick. They had come with them from the lab where they split up from Jennifer. Now, thinking about Jennifer, Alicia could feel her eyes stinging. She focused on not remembering. If she had no memory of her there would be no pain. Instead she focused on what was happening.

"So, now what? Where's the next lab?" Erin asked. Charlie didn't answer though. She seemed to have lost all sense of where she was. Alicia let herself rest against Danny and just laid there. It must have been hours later when she realized that she had fallen asleep, because outside the moon had risen and stars littered the heavens. Someone was knocking at the door. Her first thought was that the money she had "made" for the hotel owner had faded, but when she got up to check through the peephole she saw instead 2 boys, not much older than her. She opened the door and stared at them.

"What do you want?" she finally asked when they didn't say anything. "Can we come in?" one boy asked. He had medium length, blonde hair that was almost a light brown color. His face seemed cold and almost harsh. Next to him the other boy stood like a guard. His brown hair 

neat and straight, his arms crossed and she noticed that both boys were covered in scratches. "If you have something to tell me you can say it out here," she said callously.

The boy with blonde hair smirked and answered, "Alright then, I just didn't know you wanted anyone else to find out what you can do." Alicia froze. They couldn't know anything. "What are you talking about?" she asked as nonchalantly as possible. "I think you know what he means," the second boy said, "We saw you in the rubble of the explosion. You, disappeared and then reappeared. How did you do it?"

Alicia stared in horror and then shouted back into the room, "Charlie! Danny! Come here." She waited and after a few seconds she was joined by Danny. "What's going on? Charlie's still the same. Who are these guys?" Alicia whispered to him, "They saw us using our powers back at the explosion site." She saw Danny instantly stiffen as she said this. "We just want to talk, man." The first boy said. Alicia looked at Danny and then said, "And what happens if we don't want to talk?" Alicia asked. The boy smiled dangerously and responded, "We leave." Alicia closed her eyes and from her side she felt a nudge. When she opened her eyes she saw that Danny was sending out a small bolt of electricity. The first boy was hit and instantly knocked out. The second stared for a second and then opened his mouth and letting out a high pitched shriek. She grabbed at her ears and saw Danny do the same. In the seconds of time he had created the second boy started running back. By now Charlie and everyone else had come to the door and Nick ran after the boy, who was no match for the super speed Nick had gained at the lab. They took both boys into the room and tied them to the chairs they had previously occupied. "How did you do that?" Chris asked the boy with brown hair. His friend was still knocked out and lay tied up, on the bed. The boy didn't answer and Chris grinned. "Answer me buddy," he said holding a fist over the boys head. "Answer me! You're not the only one with power around here," he threatened turning the fist he held into stone.

The boy sat there contemplating and then answered. "I was part of some experiment. It was happening at the building that blew up. My name is Harvey."

Danny stood up and asked some of his own questions. "So what's your power?"

Again the boy waited before answering. "I can send out high pitched sound waves."

Danny thought over this and asked, "What about your friend?" Harvey didn't want to answer though, and Danny created a ball of electricity in his hand. "What about your friend?"

Harvey shrank in fear against the chair. "He can create explosions from stuff in his hands." Charlie seemed to have regained her spirit. She towered over the boy and asked, "So he was the one who blew up the building?" Harvey didn't even bother waiting this time. "Yeah, I guess so." Charlie smiled and spoke to the rest of them. "Untie them both! Harvey and—" she paused and Harvey answered, "Will. His name's Will."



Charlie smiled again and continued, "Right. Harvey and Will are going to be part of our new group, and will _not_ be causing any problems." She looked at Harvey, who seemed grateful that he was going to be ok. "Right." Charlie said to no one in particular. She looked at all of them assembled in front of her and smiled. "I think it's time to bring this public…"

Alicia had no idea what Charlie was planning, but she followed Danny as he went to the small living area of the room, furnished with a small table and loveseat aimed at a small television. They sat down and turned on the TV. and in the sound it produced they began talking. They didn't notice that Erin, had neared them and was engrossed in what was on the screen. When Erin called out for Charlie, Alicia looked back and saw an odd look in her face. She turned to the screen as Charlie reached them and saw the news. A young woman was standing in front of an old building and the bottom of the screen read, _Helena, Montana—unknown site experiments._ Alicia focused on what was happening.

"'_**Thank you Dianne, I'm standing in front of what should have been an abandoned building here in Helena, Montana just around the corner from where the President was giving a speech on the educational system. Just moments ago, however, a voice was heard throughout the city. Here is the recording as it was caught during the president's speech.' **_

'…_**there may not be a direct correlation between the scores and the amount of information that the students actually possessed, but when--,' 'Hello? Hello? My name is Alex! If you can hear this we need your help! I am part of a group of kids who is being experimented on! The Shop! They're the… no! We're being kept here! Help!'**_

'_**That was what we recorded from just around the corner. Here we have Officer Corrigan currently part of the investigation. **_A short and aged man was shown, his glasses close to slipping from his nose. _**Officer, do you have any clues as to where this sound, this voice came from?' 'Well, so far what we know is that the sound was sent over very strong radio signals. The signal was traced and led here. We do want to let the town know that if this is a prank there will be consequences.' **_Suddenly in the background there was a sudden crash as one of the windows shattered into pieces. The camera shakily turned to the house and from inside there was a rush of men coming out in lab coats. The reporter went to work. _**"Dianne, it seems that something from within has broken the window. A handful of men, all in suspicious white coats have come running from the building. Let's try to get an inside look." **_She jogged up to one of the men and asked, _**"Sir, what is going on? Is this in anyway related to the voice from a few minutes ago?"**_ The man, however, seemed intent on running away from the area and was quickly out of sight. The other men were not as lucky and were quickly apprehended by the policemen appearing to help. The cops were ready to go into 

the building when out came 2 boys and a girl, blinking in the sun. _**"Dianne, as you can see, three kids have just come from inside the building. Excuse me, **_she shouted to the kids,_** what were you ding in here? Are you the ones who sent the radio message? **_Again, the reporter's questions were unanswered, this time by an officer who came and led the kids away. _**Dianne, this is obviously a case that will result in much investigation. From the look of things, however, it seems like the action here has subsided. For now this is Neva Ewes reporting live from Helena, Montana.**_

Alicia sat there in shock. Had they actually discovered a Shop? Her head was spinning, but over her Charlie seemed happy with the news. "Well, I guess we have to get to Montana." She said with a sardonic smile. Alicia leaned in her seat and went through everything in her head. They had only just arrived an already they were on their way. Next to her Danny stared at the TV waiting for anymore mention of the incident.

**AN: I hope that the news thing wasn't too confusing. Thanks for reading though. **


	21. V2, Dreamers Chapter 20

**Special Thanks to Marner and Kar-zid. Ya'll rock. Thanks also to anyone else who might be reading this. Here's the next chapter.**

**Kyle**

The small motel room was sparsely furnished with two large beds and a small television set on top of a dull and misshapen nightstand. The room's décor was finished off with a wooden rocking chair that seemed ready to collapse underneath its own weight. They had all entered and instantly claimed bits and pieces of the room. Their exhaustion was strong and there was little worry about where they would sleep. He, Ben, and Cesar settled quietly into bits of one bed, and Katie, Ali, and Dawn lay on the other bed. Between the two beds, Ricky found a spot on the floor and let himself collapse onto it. Jennifer took up a spot at the floor at the foot of the girl's bed. Valentine sat authoritatively on the chair. They were all quickly asleep.

Kyle found himself in a premonition that night. He stood at the bottom of a set of stairs, once more in a body that wasn't his. The light around him was dim and he heard something. "Hello? Hello. My name is Alex." Kyle looked around and saw that there were two others with him. A boy and a girl, both close to 5 feet tall. The boy was talking, but his voice seemed to echo and repeat itself in the air around him. He continued, "If you can hear this we need your help. I am part of a group of kids who are being experimented on. The Shop! They're the…" Suddenly interrupting the boy was a slamming door behind them. From it came a man in a white lab coat. His face was sweaty and he breathed heavily as he ran towards them. Kyle and the other two made their way up the stairs.

The man caught up with them halfway up the stairs. His arm reached out and grabbed onto the boy's leg. The boy shouted out, "No!" Kyle felt his body turn suddenly and he threw his hand outward. A shiny glare appeared in between the man and the boy. They continued upward and the boy tried to finish talking. "We're being kept here! Help!" They got to the top and opened a weathered door. Unfortunately, right behind them came more lab technicians. Past the door they found what looked like the inside of an old house. The windows were boarded up, but through them came small shafts of light. The girl ran towards the door. Behind the came the rest of the lab techs. Kyle saw himself move towards the girl with the boy. The girl turned to stare at the men coming towards them. She grabbed at her head and the air became cold. Kyle moved his arms and the glare appeared around them. It was a sort of shield. Outside of it the air became cold. The windows became frosted on the inside. The men backed up. The girl took her hands off her hands and the room went back to normal. Then she moved them back as if forcing the energy out. The air became hazy now and the men began to sweat. The frost melted and the windows cracked and fell apart. The men ran for the door and left. Kyle got rid of the force field and the girl put her arms back down. They slowly walked out to the door that had closed behind the men. The boy opened the door and the light from outside was blinding. Kyle woke up facing the same brightness.

The lights in the motel room had gone on and Valentine was staring at the small television. Everyone was slowly getting up and as Kyle's eyes fell on the screen he saw the kids from his premonition. He caught the last few lines of the news report.

_**"As you would imagine, officials are looking into this very seriously. From what they have learned from the kids, this is part of an organization known as The Shop. We will be keeping you up-to-date as this story unravels itself."**_

__Kyle stared at the screen. Around him the others had the same thoughts. What did this mean for them? Valentine spoke up. "Well, this is something we did not see coming, but the Shop couldn't have kept this quiet much longer."

"So are we going all the way to Montana?" Katie asked.

"We have to," Valentine answered. "If Charlie finds out you know she'll be heading for there too. We have to make sure that this is as controlled as possible." Nothing more about the situation came back on and they all went back to sleep. The next day they had to start for Montana.

**Britney**

As they walked through the streets of San Francisco she felt an odd creeping sense. A thought was tugging at her. Parker was walking to her left and she kept thinking about something he had said earlier in the day. She thought for a long time before saying anything.

"Parker?" she asked.

"Yeah," she heard him say in his tenor voice. She was quiet for a while longer before continuing.

"Parker, do you want to go off on your own?" She finally asked. Her voice was tight and forced. Her eyes were blinking faster than normal. She did her best to keep her face without emotion. If he wanted to go off on his own, she wouldn't be an anchor to him.

"Off on my own?" Parker asked in confusion. "Why?"

Britney took a deep breath and answered, "Back in the lab, when Kyle asked if we wanted to go with him, you said you worked better by yourself." They had stopped walking by now and were standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk.

Parker waited a while before answering. "I do work better alone, but that doesn't mean I want to be alone. Britney, we've been through this from the beginning. I'm not going to leave you now."

Britney smiled; glad to know that Parker didn't want to go on without her. She didn't know if she would have been fine alone. Then she asked, "So where are we going?"

Parker answered, "I'm not sure. I think we should just keep walking for a while. It's been a long time since we've had a chance to do nothing." They started again and Britney felt an odd sense of happiness. They had a lot to think about, but she was glad that for at least a while they would have some peace.

**Zach**

His mind had changed. Or rather, he took up space in a different part of his mind. Everything became distorted, filtered until only darkened versions of life remained. There was a different feel to everything and he made his decisions more rashly. Otherwise he wouldn't be here, hiding in a car headed for Montana. That's where it was all happening. He had been following Harvey and Will and saw them meet up with another group. He had heard about what happened in Montana, it was all anybody seemed to talk about, and when he found out that Will was heading there with his new friends he had to get there too. He had to do something.

He told himself that he was only going to make sure that Harvey and Will didn't cause trouble, but inside, in that new part of his mind, he knew that he was going to do something rash. It wasn't fair that Will could go around with no remorse. He and Harvey had escaped unscathed and Zach was going to change that. The trip was a long one, and as he went from car to car, hiding in the backs of trucks, and finding people willing to give him rides, he felt himself become more and more isolated from everything. He knew no one except for Harvey and Will.

By the time that Helena, Montana was a few miles away, he was walking. He no longer looked for company. He stayed to himself and kept on. He had no idea how far away Will and the others were, now, but he didn't care. Reason wasn't driving him anymore, only a focused rage. Nothing else could get through his mind. He walked quickly, with determination, and as he looked forward seeing the sign that marked the city limit he smiled. He started clenching and unclenching his hands and from his palms came bursts of light. As he walked past the posting, he flung his arm out and a ball of hot white light flew out, it hit the sign and left a scorched circle across the front. Zach walked into the city, revenge bubbling through his thoughts.


	22. V2, Dreamers Chapter 21

**Thanks go out to everyone. Here's the next chapter in Dreamers! Sorry it took so long. College is getting to be hectic. **

**Parker**

They weren't walking for very long before they decided to stop and sit down on a bench. There were things to talk about. Before, when Britney asked if he wanted to go off by himself, he really had to think about it. He was usually better off alone. He liked the quiet. He liked the freedom that came from no appendages. Still, he had become closer to Britney. She had been a great friend and he couldn't let that go. He felt a different sort of attachment to her. So he decided to stay with her. Now they needed to decide what they had to do.

They sat quietly for a long while before they actually talked. It was he who broke the silence. "So what are we going to do now?" he asked.

Britney answered with unease. "There isn't much that we can do. We don't know anyone. I think that we should just leave."

"San Francisco?" Parker asked.

"Not just San Francisco," Britney replied. "I think we need to just get out of society for a while. There isn't anything that we can do here. Besides, after being in those cages for so long, walking felt nice."

"All right," Parker answered. "We'll leave, but what about food, and clothes?" Parker was surprised by Britney's response.

"I think we might have to take some," she said half-heartedly. "We need to eat, and we can't go around with only these clothes." She stared at the ground as she said this. This wasn't right, but it was necessary.

Parker nodded and they stood up, ready to leave. They walked through the city, their minds more troubled than before, but with direction. Parker looked around at the people who walked around him. As much as he liked his space, he almost envied their connections. They had places to go, and people to see. At least he had Britney, though. As they passed an electronics-shop, though, he became distracted from his thoughts. A group of people had gathered around a television, watching a news program. As they neared he overheard parts of the news report.

"_**That was footage from the recent scene in Helena, Montana, where a group of kids has been taken into the Sacred Roses Hospital until more information is found. The kids were a part of an experimental group known as the Shop. Government officials deny any knowledge of such a group. In the investigation launched after this occurrence, a number of sites have been blockaded. The nearby towns and cities are being kept away from these areas .It is suspected that these places may house more Shop laboratories. No more is known at this moment, but be sure that we will be keeping you up to date as information comes in.**_

**Valentine**

They headed north for the last few days, either walking or hitchhiking their way to Helena. Their information was a mix of reports on television and on the radio, clippings from the newspapers, and the small talk made with anyone willing to give them a ride. The topic wasn't exactly unknown. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on the kids in Helena. Some were outraged at the thought and some had scary ideas about what could happen with those kinds of powers released to the world.

They stopped to rest in an old motel just past the Idaho state line. They would be in Montana in 3 days at the most. Inside the motel they went to a routine they had adapted lately. They claimed their bits of the room and instantly turned the television on. This had become the norm in the motel rooms. Going straight for the news channels, where they might hear something about what was going on. All they knew so far, however, was that the kids were being kept in a hospital until they had figured out if they were healthy and until they knew what they would do about everything.

Valentine sat there for hours, his eyes glued to the television. Everyone else had fallen asleep long ago. The news had been over for a while, and on the screen a man tried to sell some kind of kitchen appliance. Valentine wasn't really watching though. His mind was everywhere but in that room. He had no idea that this was going to be happening when they first escaped. Now he had no idea where he would be tomorrow, let alone years from now. What would happen next?

The lack of information was exhausting. He would go over the same facts and the same thoughts, hoping that something different would come up. It never did. He sat there, waiting for the morning to come, so that they could get on to the next motel. If they got lucky, it wouldn't be too long before they made it to Montana. Still, they had no idea what Charlie was up to. If Charlie was already there, she would do her best to get to the kids.

As the first bits of light fell into the room, Valentine stood up. The others would be waking up soon and then they'd be on their way. He opened the door quietly and went outside, taking a deep breath, feeling the slight chill of the morning. He remembered that first time stepping outside of the lab and into that park. That feeling of freedom he felt, thinking that everything could be alright. He felt it every time that he stepped outside, but it never lasted more than a few seconds. Only long enough to tease him. A small taste of what life should be like. From within the motel room, he heard the small stirrings that meant everyone was slowly waking up.

**Alicia**

She stepped out of the car, a different one from before so that they couldn't be tracked down by anyone. They were standing in front of Sacred Roses Hospital, where according to the news reports the kids from the Helena, Montana Shop were being held. Standing behind the car she waited for everyone to come out and put up a mirage over them; all except Erin. Erin would become invisible and look for the kids then they could all head there.

While she waited with the others she let her mind drift. She didn't notice when Danny came up next to her to hold her hand. She didn't notice that her mirage flashed off for a few seconds. She didn't see the boy watching from the hospital's front door, his fingers almost glowing with energy. She didn't notice anything until Danny tugged on her arm, pointing out Erin's return. This was it. They were going to go in.

She kept the mirage up until they got into the hospital. Once inside she let it down and instantly there was a scream as people saw them appear from nowhere. Charlie stood tall and spoke, "Everybody be quiet." She put up a hand, and when panic continued she created a ball of fire in her hand. "I said be quiet!" she announced again. This time everybody listened, staring with horror. Alicia felt her face become red. The looks were aimed at them, and she felt like a freak on parade. Charlie turned back to Erin and spoke again, "Lead us to them."

Erin nodded and they headed through the corridors. When they reached one final door, Charlie sent a ball of fire at the handle and the door swung open. Inside were 3 kids, 2 boys and a girl, as well as one doctor. The doctor looked confused, and then instantly horrified as Charlie sent a ball of flames past his head. He stared in fear for a few seconds and then ran out of the room. "Smart of him," Charlie commented. She turned to the kids and smiled. "Hello. I'm Charlie. We have come to help you."


	23. V2, Dreamers Chapter 22

ASorry about how long it's been taking. Thanks for reading and reviewing though. Very much appreciated. Onto the story.

**Kyle**

They finally reached the city limits. The nine of them walking past the sign signaling their entrance into Montana, a hole roughly the size of a baseball scorched into its face. They walked quietly through the streets. They were dressed in the clothes that they had managed to take from the few stores they felt would suffer less; jeans, shirts, and sweaters, only the basics. They walked in formation. Kyle, Valentine, and Katie walked in the lead silent, all wondering about what was going to happen next. Behind them Ben talked to Dawn quietly, and Cesar walked next to them, just barely listening, putting more concentration on his feet ahead of him. At the back, Jennifer, Ali, and Ricky muttered to themselves, Ali's wings hidden beneath a large jacket slightly bulging, but inconspicuous nonetheless.

They walked through the streets looking for the hospital. They found it easily. Most of the town was still talking enthusiastically about what had happened and were eager to tell anyone about the hospital. The group stood outside just past the parking lot looking up at the 3-story building.

"They should be in there," Valentine said.

"Unless Charlie's been here already," Ricky slowly thought aloud.

"No." Valentine said, "If she had come we would know. She's not the kind to be subtle."

Just as he finished talking, though, they all felt something strange. The air around them felt strange and almost electric; a funny vibrating static air hanging suddenly over everything. They looked around, ready for anything. Kyle felt something familiar about the air though. He couldn't place it though. Almost like remembering a sensation from a dream. It wasn't really but it was strong enough for him to know it was something. Then they heard the voice.

"Hello? My name is Charlie." It echoed over everything and everyone seemed to hear it. To Kyle and the others, though, it meant that they had to be ready for anything. Kyle didn't say it aloud, but in his mind he couldn't help but think that it might come down to a fight. They knew Charlie was willing to use her powers against anyone. That's when he remembered where he knew the strange feeling from. It was in his premonition of the 3 kids. He had used this exact power in the premonition!

"Charlie's with them!" He shouted, breaking into a run ahead of everyone ready to barge into the hospital. They followed close behind him, entering the hospital in one mob-like group. Inside they found very few people. Everyone had probably left when Charlie arrived. As they walked through the building they continued to listen to Charlie's message.

"My name is Charlie. I was a result of experimenting done by the Shop. My parents died because of the Shop. Even… Even…" Charlie's voice began to falter as the group reached the second floor. They walked and slowly the voice around them regained its strength. "

"They even killed my daughter. The Shop is real, as unknown as it may be to many here. The Shop is evil. This message is to all of you inside Shops around the country. There are kids who have escaped. Fight to get out. Fight for a chance to live a real life. Fight for those who died and may die because of the Shops actions. My name is Charlie. I am like you. If you make it out we will find you. We can help you."

Kyle stopped for a moment. He heard something in Charlie's voice. There was something real in it. Hearing her speech made him stop to think. She continued.

"If you make it out you will have help. We will fight with you." Kyle felt a small hope. Maybe they wouldn't have to fight. Maybe they could be on same sides. He looked at the others and the same looks of confusion and hope wavering on their faces.

"This message is also to those outside of the Shops. Those of you in 'society.' All of you who have allowed our world come to this. All of you who are to blame. We will find you too." Her voice was changing. "We will make sure this is made right. You are not safe. You are to blame and we will punish you." Her voice had changed almost to an opposite extreme. Anger permeated her words. "You have changed us. You have made us into these freaks. So know we will change you. The world you know is in its last days."

Kyle's face hardened. The hope he had failed. There was nothing that could put them together with Charlie. She was too far gone. As they ran through the Last hall, the voice became louder.

"We will fight. We will win." She finished as they burst through the door. Inside of this room were 3 beds. The 3 kids from Kyle's premonition were sitting on one bed and Charlie and her group stood around them. Charlie looked up and smiled, cold pride sitting on her face.

"I guess we beat you this time," she said calmly.

**Britney**

Britney and Parker didn't really have much of an idea where they were going, let alone what they'd do there. They walked for as long as they could and then they'd sleep in the crevices of the cities they passed, in the cracks of society and in sometimes in a field or open land. This became pretty routine very quickly. They did little, talking amongst themselves only on rare occasions, but still Britney felt herself get closer to Parker. They had little idea about where they were, and they didn't really care. They both felt like social outcasts, and had no need to return to civilization. So they wandered aimlessly, just doing enough to survive.

Sometimes Britney would think about what Kyle had told them. She would sometimes ask herself if they should have gone with Kyle and Cesar. She always found a reason, but as time went by it became harder to come up with excuses. That was when they heard it. A voice, cold and filled with scorn. A woman's voice filled the air around both her and Parker.

"My name is Charlie. I am like you. If you make it out we will find you. We can help you." Her balance was thrown off, and as the voice continued, her power flashed. As the voice filled her head her psycho-location flashed off. She could no longer "hear" her surroundings, only the voice. She let herself fall to her knees, and felt Parker's hand on her arm.

"This message is also to those outside of the Shops. Those of you in 'society.' All of you who have allowed our world come to this. All of you who are to blame. We will find you too." Her voice was changing. "We will make sure this is made right. You are not safe. You are to blame and we will punish you." Her voice had changed almost to an opposite extreme. Anger permeated her words. "You have changed us. You have made us into these freaks. So know we will change you. The world you know is in its last days."

The voice ended, and Britney regained her new sight. She sat for a few moments, and Parker voiced his worry. "Are you sure, you're ok?"

"She took a few deep breaths and stood back up. "Yeah, but that voice… Kyle told us about her. He said Charlie was trying to get people on her side." Parker said nothing, and she was quiet for a few more seconds before she decided to keep walking.

"Are you sure?" Parker asked. She didn't say anything, only kept walking, and he quickly kept pace. They had made the right decision. This Charlie character was looking for a fight, and Kyle seemed like he and his friends were ready to stop her. She and Parker would not get involved. They would stand off on their own. They would stand neutral and away from whatever happened. She kept walking now, farther away from society and away from all sides, with only Parker and his silence for company.

**Zach**

He hung back, a small distance behind this new group. In the corridor he watched as they entered the room where Harvey, Will, and their own group had gone into earlier. Standing in the hall he thought back to what he knew, and what was now going on. Harvey and Will had met up with a group, who seemed to have powers too. Just now he had heard a voice. This Charlie person knew something about what was going on. She knew about the Shop and she said there were others. So that's who Harvey and Will were with. Who was the new group though?

He was sure that they also had powers. He had seen one of them pull open a locked door and tear it off its hinges, and when one girl had taken off her coat he saw a pair of wings stretch out behind her. So what now?

He stepped up closer to the door and looked in carefully. There was a clear difference of sides between both groups. Will, Harvey and their group stood by one wall with 3 kids Zach assumed to be the kids everyone was talking about. The newer group stood at the other side in 2 lines. He stooped down, so he wouldn't be seen and listened.

"I told you more would come," the only adult woman in the room said to the 3 kids from the news. Then she turned to the new group and said, "You're too late this time. They're coming with us."

One boy from the new group stepped forward, his blonde hair short and his eyes a serious blue. As he spoke Zach noticed that this boy's teeth were razor sharp and that there were more than there should have been. He quietly said, "Charlie, we do not want to hurt anyone. What you're doing, though, is crazy."

"That may be so," Charlie said sardonically, "but that is beyond the point. I will get revenge and so will everyone who has had to endure the Shop's pain! I'm sure you heard my message. Thanks to our new friend here, so did everyone in the country, maybe as far as the world."

The new group shared a look of surprise. "Charlie!" The sharp toothed boy snarled. Just then a boy on Charlie's side stood forward and from his hands came a ball of electric energy. He held a girl not much taller than himself in the other hand, and spoke, "Valentine, we are doing this and there is nothing that you can do to stop this."

Another boy from the fanged boy's side spoke up, looking older than the rest on his side, and spoke with calm fury. "Danny, you made a mistake choosing to join Charlie. We have decided to stop her and neither you nor Alicia will make this easier, but you won't stop us. You're taking things too far." In his own hands he created a ball of dark shadows, almost glowing under the fluorescent lighting.

The room was filled with a tense energy, but nothing compared to what was coming. Charlie laughed and looked to one boy in the opposite group. "Ben?" she said looking at him with expecting eyes. Everyone looked to the same boy, with short brown hair and light brown eyes. He looked almost guilty for a second, but then spoke up. "They're telling the truth. They're willing to fight. Most of them at least."

Charlie seemed to think this over, and then smiled. "Fine then. Good work, Ben." Then the boy walked over to Charlie's side closely followed by a girl. Everyone seemed shocked. One boy more than anyone else. "Ben!" This boy shouted, concern and pain on his eyes.

"Sorry, Kyle," Ben began, "but Charlie's right and we had to make sure you wouldn't be a problem. I've always been on her side. Come on Dawn." As he finished he grabbed the girl's hand, and they took a spot behind the rest of Charlie's team."

The boy named Kyle stood forward and a flash of light came from his hands. Everyone stepped back and the light quickly faded. Everyone looked surprised, except for Will and Harvey, who looked almost scared. They had seen that power before. That was Zach's power, and he recognized it instantly from his spot. Did this Kyle have the same power? A girl standing next to Kyle spoke up, "How did you do that?" she asked. He looked at his hands guiltily and answered, "I don't know."

Charlie looked exasperated and sighed. "I don't have time for this. We're leaving, and you can't stop us." Everyone moved slightly, and Zach saw several powers display themselves. There was a flame in Charlie's hand. One boy had a ball of electricity hanging on his finger. Everyone seemed ready to fight. Again, Charlie smiled. She spoke quietly. "You don't want to fight us. Will!" she said, signaling over Will. "This boy here, has a very unique gift. He actually blew up the entire Shop where he's from."

Everyone flinched slightly, and Will looked worried, although even in worry he had a sense of arrogance. "Now we're just going to leave now, "Charlie continued, "and if you try to hurt anyone he will blow up this entire town."

The new group looked around nervously. Zach couldn't believe it. So he took this as a cue and stepped up. He instantly saw fear in Will and Harvey's faces. "Is that so?" Zach asked to the whole room. Everyone stared at him now. Seeing the fear in Will's face reminded him of why he was there. He had almost let himself forget everything, but he was here for something.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked, obviously angry at this new character she knew nothing about.

Zach answered calmly. "I'm just an old friend of Will and Harvey's." Charlie looked to Will quickly and then opened her mouth to say something, then quickly closed it. Zach took the chance to say something, himself.

"So you can blow up a whole town, Will? Well maybe if I had known that, I would have never messed with you?" Will stared angrily and quiet. "Or rather, maybe if you had known you would have never messed with me." In his hand he created a small light and everyone realized it was what Kyle had done earlier.

"What is he talking about, Will?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know." Will lied.

"Will, do they really think you blew up that lab? Hah." Charlie looked very concerned now. "Then maybe I should tell them that it was really me. Maybe they should know that when you lost your temper, Kenzi took your power and gave me that energy." At this point Zach realized he was shouting and felt the first of several hot tears come down. His fist shook and his voice trembled, even in its volume. "Maybe they should know that I blew up the lab. Maybe they should know that I'm the one who killed Kenzi and Michelle. That I killed Kylie. That I'm going to kill you and Harvey." Now Will was angry, but not as much as Charlie was.

"I will not have you interrupting our business!" she shouted, but Zach was ready to get through with this. He created a ball of pure light energy and threw it at the bed which exploded. "I have the power here," he shouted. Charlie backed up a step and stayed quiet. "I have the power here!" Zach repeated. He looked at Will and all the anger came back in one sudden flash. His hand shot out small sparks of light, and the air around him crackled. He had come here for this sole reason, and now he had to do it. He moved one hand forward and a flash came from it. Slowly a small ball of light began to grow, and as it did, Zach grew happy. He had to this.

"Why are you doing this?" Kyle asked.

Zach turned his head, and looked at this group. "You guys shouldn't be a part of this, but I'm not letting this chance get away. Will and Harvey do not deserve to stand here when Kenzi does not." Zach could feel his anger growing. His fist clenched and unclenched and he was glad, because he would need all the anger he could get to finish this. Last time he had the energy from Kenzi, but this time he'd need to use his own. "This is it, for you two," he said and from his hands light exploded in large flashes. The room became a mix of light and shadows, bouncing from wall to wall and landing over the people within it. Faces were alternately full of light, or impossibly darkened, and only Zach's face remained completely lit, hanging just over the source of light. From one side he heard a voice. It was a mumbled and muffled one, and he just barely made out the word "plane." He didn't care though. He looked at Harvey and Will, their eyes shining in the light. He put all his energy into this last burst. In the background he heard several soft hums, but he didn't look. There was a glare just in front of him, beside Will and Harvey.

"This is it!" He shouted. The energy became impossible to control now and he let it go. A wave of hot light encompassed the room. Sparks were everywhere. His eyes burned now. He didn't know if it was the tears or the light, but it didn't matter anymore. The explosion was intense. His last thoughts were mixed and jumbled, but they did revolve around one name. Kenzi was in his mind as the light ended. The heat was still there, all around him, but he saw no more light. And then, even the thinking stopped.

**So that's the end of Volume II. Hope you liked it, and thanks for all the reviews. Be on the lookout for Volume III Fighters. Coming soon.**


	24. Interlude II

**Interlude II**

**I'll try and get this story going on at a more consistent schedule. Thanks for reading and please review! **

**Charlie**

This was not the way she needed this to go. She had prepared for these new kids, she had prepared for Valentine and his self-righteous group, but this was not acceptable. In the strobe-like lights, she looked around at her group. She couldn't let it end like this, but there was little any of them could do. What was more; Will had let her believe he could blow up the entire town. He had lied to her, and now they were stuck. Around her she heard the small voices of her group. Then at her side came one of the new boys, along with Alicia and Danny.

Danny spoke up and said, "This one can create a shield, but it can only be so big. We don't know if we can all fit."

Charlie felt a sudden relief. She thought for a few seconds and then said to Danny, "Tell everyone to huddle in and then have him extend the shield over us. Tell everyone, except for Will and Harvey. If this guy wants them he can have them."

Danny stared at her for a moment and moved around their group. Everyone moved closer and neither Will nor Harvey paid attention. The shield went up, and Charlie saw a glare in front of her. The voices became slightly quieter, and finally she heard this guy shout "This is it!" The lights around them exploded and even within the shield the power was tremendous. The light threw itself around the room, and everything blurred itself out.

**Kyle**

The room became a series of flashes and sparks. Worry showed itself through the light and shadows. Voices were muffled, and no one knew how things were going to end. This guy was ready to blow, and they had to get out. They had to leave Charlie's group now. Kyle could just barely hear the others talk around him.

"What do we do?" Katie shouted over the room, and even so, her voice was just barely audible over the noise.

Kyle saw Valentine quickly take his role, as he said, "We're leaving!" with an authoritative air. No one was going to disagree. "Ok," he said, worry beginning to peek through his words. "How do we get out?" Everyone was quiet.

This time Ricky answered. "The astral plane!"

Valentine looked at him for a few seconds before asking, "Can you do it?"

Ricky didn't answer and instead closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. In the background they heard muffled sounds, and then a voice, "This is it for you two!" Kyle looked to Ricky, and Valentine voiced everyone's concern. "Ricky, we have to go now." Ricky opened his eyes, and then everything went black.

Kyle opened his eyes and as the others appeared at his side, he sighed with relief. Now they'd just have to wait it out.

**Charlie**

As the light faded she had no idea where she was. The blast had resulted in some shaking and a sense of falling, and now she looked out, no longer within the hospital, but atop its remains. She saw no trace of the boy, Will, Harvey, or anyone else. She looked up at the bright day, and said to Alicia, "Quickly, before anyone comes by put up a mirage, and let's get going."

The whole time they walked, she talked. "This can never happen again. We can never be forced to just take something." Everyone else stayed quiet. "Now there is very little to decide. We have sent out our message. We are beginning a very important part of history. We are going to fight. It shouldn't be too hard. People are not ready. We will take our revenge. We will fight for it." She stopped now, and everyone huddled around her.

"This may take work, but we are going to fight for it. We will win."

**Kyle**

They finally decided it was safe enough and Ricky got them out of the astral plane. The darkness lasted a second before they were in the bright daylight. They were supposed to be in the same spot they were before, but that was physically impossible, now that most of the city was in ruins. The entire hospital was nothing but a pile of rubble and even around it the explosion was noticeable. The buildings unlucky enough to be near the hospital were just as destroyed. The entire town resembled what Kyle imagined the end of the world to look like, carrying an emptiness and coldness, because even in this disaster the sky above was bright and speckled with the occasional cloud. The air was calm with a warm breeze. Coming closer they could here sirens and they realized that they needed to leave. They turned to Valentine who looked very tired. Even so he quickly said, "Let's go, this way."

They all followed, and in their escape they were silent. Kyle was left to do little but think. This situation had come too close. They had almost died. What chance did they have of doing anything? These were his thoughts until Valentine finally stopped everyone when they were safely away.

"This was very dangerous." He began after a few minutes to rest. "And I cannot expect you to want any part in this. I am telling you this to offer you a chance to leave. You can travel with us, and just leave the second we get to a new town. Try and escape. I'm going to keep fighting though." He stopped here, and Kyle saw why they had made him an unofficial leader. "Charlie was ready to put everyone in danger, and we are coming to a dangerous time. The world knows about us, to some extent and Charlie is ready to attack. I will do my best to stop her, but you do not have to."

Katie stood up and went next to Valentine. She took his hand and turned to the group. "I'm fighting. It shouldn't be, but I'm fighting for a final peace." Valentine seemed reassured.

Kyle went up and stood next to Katie and announced. "I'm fighting too. This is too important to not fight for."

Slowly everyone stood up and Kyle had a small flicker of a memory go off in his mind. He was reminded of the last time he had decided to fight, back in the lab when they were going to escape. Now some people were new, and some people were gone, and some people had just changed, but they were alike in this: they were all willing to fight. They were all going to fight.


	25. Volume III, Fighters Chapter 23

**So it's been a long while since I've been able to visit this story, but I've been in a bit of a rut lately. I'm home for the summer and the creative juices are flowing, though, so I'll try to make updates more regular. Thanks to all who read and please comment with any feedback. I hope you enjoy the return of Project Advancement. Here's the next Volume:**

**Firestarter 2: Project Advancement  
Volume III: Fighters**

**Katie**

It had been 2 years since they left Helena, Montana. That had been the beginning of some very intense times. Since then there had been so many changes, and not just to them. The whole world was in a state of chaos. Everything was thrown into a tailspin and Katie sometimes found herself asking how it could have gotten to this. She knew deep down, though, when they left Helena that things were going to get worse.

They had to stop the Shop. That had been the original concern. They had to put a stop to what the Shop was doing. It's how the whole thing began. Going from Shop to Shop they wandered growing, shrinking, and changing in numbers.

The world knew about them after the stuff in Helena. Things grew harder. Hiding became near impossible. Mostly because of Charlie's group. Charlie and her followers were not ready to hide anymore. They were actively working.

After Helena, Katie and her group stopped their Shop to Shop journey. As people became aware of the Shop's actions the kids being worked on were released from Shop laboratories around the country. However, they went into hospitals, confined to a limbo while everyone else decided what would happen. Charlie began her crusade to bring justice to all those hurt by the actions of the Shop. She began "freeing" all kids with powers. Focus changed to stopping Charlie, but it was hard to be ready for the kind of support Charlie gained. Some of the kids were really angry about what had happened. They were more than willing to help her.

Files found at locations of Shops still standing showed that in total 1500 kids had been taken off the streets and from orphanages to serve the experiments of the shop. Of them 114 were deemed successes, meaning they both lived and showed positive responses i.e. powers. There are currently suspected to be 100 or so left, counting the deaths of Harvey, Will, and Zach, as well as a few deaths occurring since then. Charlie's efforts paid off as she ended up with a team of more than half of all changed Shop kids. Attempts at stopping Charlie ended up in nothing more than 46 kids who want to stop Charlie or who simply want no part of this. The world has changed so much…

Charlie quickly went into action taking over. Not just getting revenge but completely taking over New York City with her team. Slowly spreading herself and her team around she has created a world led by Gods. Those are her words. Around the world the rest of humanity is filled with fear. Second class citizens. There is only one spot of hope now. Valentine, Katie, Kyle and their group are stationed in California. There they have been cornered. They continued to fight, and now there is a standstill. They cannot provoke a fight, and Charlie doesn't want to deal with them. All they have been able to do is establish this area as a safe haven. They have a sense of normalcy for the people in this new California. They have put their energy into creating this California, but things need to change if Charlie is to be stopped. Katie stood up and headed for Resistance Headquarters.

When they first started the Resistance they had to split up. Doing different things to get this new society going. Right now she was on her way to get a new assignment. As she walked into the lobby she heard a voice.

"Hi Katie, everyone's in Valentine's office." It was Liz. She was a secretary here, who had been rescued from attempts at mass genocide of normal people in Europe. They had tried to do this worldwide and fight Charlie head on, but that would only resort in more dead. She thought of this as she walked into Valentine's office. Inside she was greeted by the old gang. It had been a long while since they had all been together in one room. For so long they had seen each other only in occasional glances from far away. Except for Kyle, who had been working close with her.

"Hi Katie." It was Valentine, 20 years old now, just like her, a smile on his face that shone over the rest of his hollowing expression. This whole thing was aging them so much.

"Hi, guys." Katie answered back.

"We need to talk," began Ricky. "There's something big going on."

**Valentine**

When Katie walked in, his heart leaped. There had always been this unofficial thing between them that made things awkward. Especially now that they barely saw each other. As she sat down, he cleared his throat and tried to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Ricky's right," he began. "Something big is happening.

"Well obviously," said Kyle, "Otherwise we wouldn't all be here." They laughed, but only lightly, because they had all already realized this. They hardly saw each other. To be together like this could only mean big issues.

"Right. Well…" continued Valentine, "as we all know, we have had very little success in this thing we have going with Charlie. The only gain we have is this haven of California. We've managed to secure this one land mass, and with no airplanes going in and out, and with surveillance, not to mention the added help of the Sierra Nevada Range we have had few problems from Charlie and her group. However we all knew this was only a temporary fix. As long as we are not with Charlie she is going to view us as a threat."

There was a shared look of dread throughout the room.

"You mean she's coming?" asked Katie.

"Not exactly. We've had confirmed sightings of strange people working in the mountains. Rockslides and earthquakes have become more frequent and unexplained. We have a feeling that what Charlie is doing is trying to get to us. If she manages to get here she and her people can do more than just damage they will take over. Jennifer, Ricky, and I have been thinking about this for a long time and we've come up with a plan. As of now, we are cloaked by C.J. His ability to mess with radio signals and waves has it so they can't find us by radar or any other means, but the effects of this are minor when they already know where we are. All we have managed is to keep them out of our business and away from our information."

"Right well we can't really do much about that, can we?" asked Kyle.

"Well we have been planning this for a while. You and Katie have proven to be our best team here at the Resistance. There is a special assignment I have for you."

"Well if it's just an assignment why did we all need to show up?" Kyle asked.

"It's more than a mission," Ricky explained. "This mission may lead to a confrontation if Charlie really has men here. If she doesn't then this merely protects us from whenever she finally decides to come after us. On the chance of confrontation, though, a fight may await you. You are our best, and this is important for the safety of what we are trying to stop."

"Alright, so there may be a fight, but what will we be doing?" Katie asked.

"You will be going to Sierra Nevada's. We have a map for you in the lobby at Liz's desk. It will tell you exactly where to go. Take a team with you, and before you go visit Linda's lab. She has some things for you. At the Range… your aim is to set off a chain of explosives as well as use your powers. We think it best if—we think it's for the best if California was separated from the rest of the United States."

"We're going to blow off California?" Kyle asked in shock.

"We know it's extreme but we need to start working proactively and not just defensively. This is the first step."

There was a long pause before Katie spoke up. "Alright. When do we go?"

"Take the next few days to prepare. Leave in 3 days. That should be enough time."

They sat there for a long while and stared at each other. Together again, and just as quickly splitting up. "Well we have another meeting in a few minutes," said Ricky.

"Right." Answered Kyle. They all stood up and said goodbye and began to walk out.

"Valentine I—" began Katie, before Valentine interrupted.

"We'll talk when you come back. I promise." He said.

"Alright."

"Bye Katie."

"Bye."


	26. Volume III, Fighters Chapter 24

**In my attempt to make up for the long period without any updates, here is another chapter. Please read and review! Thanks!**

**Danny**

As the first signs of light broke into his room, Danny was able to see the beautiful landscape of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, spread in what seemed to be an infinite mass of trees and rock. He hated it.

They should have been done over a week ago. Too much time here was not a good idea. Eventually they would be found out. This was supposed to be a quick in and out job, and it was turning into a ridiculous mess. Charlie would not be happy and that was never good.

He sighed and got up. They needed to finish soon, or else. He headed for small shower and stood under the hot water, sighing. The water felt good and he almost forgot about everything standing in the falling spray. Nothing seemed to be louder than the pelting water or to break through the glass separating him from the outside world; nothing except the high jingle of a ringing cell phone. He grunted and turned off the water. He stepped out and wrapped a towel around his lower half and stood on the cold floor. He wiped the mirror of its steamy filter and grabbed his phone to see the missed call from Alicia. He stared at her name in the small device and then closed it to look at himself.

He was 17 now and in the last few years he had grown much taller. His blonde hair was cut short. His upper body was well defined and gleamed in the afterglow of his shower. He stared intently into his own eyes and as he did his body began to tingle. Small sparks began to appear all around his body and he watched as he was covered in small sparks bouncing from drop to drop over his body. He was hypnotized by the dancing flashes of blue on pearly white skin. It was beautiful, much more than the scenery around him. Finally it stopped. He looked back down to the phone and picked it up, walking out of the bathroom and called Alicia back.

"Hey," he said, "I'll be over in a few minutes. Start the others." He quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt and headed outside, breathing in the cool air of the mountain side. As he headed for the site where the others would be waiting his thoughts went back to New York.

He had thought it strange when Charlie had called for him. They talked on occasion of course, there were only so many Shop victims and they were all spread over the globe. In twos and threes. New York was an exception. Charlie was using it as a base for the whole organization. She had a few people here with powers. Even so, they only talked when discussing plans, and in the last few months these planning sessions had become irrelevant. There was no planning necessary now that they had become so powerful. And they had become very powerful.

Charlie had been sure it would be easy to takeover. It had been her plan all along, and she was sure it would happen. Even she couldn't have predicted this though. Not only did their power over the state, country, and world grow, but so did the control over their powers. It seemed like they were still growing. The power they each possessed was becoming more and more powerful.

As he walked on he saw the silhouette of Alicia standing in the middle of growing mist. As he got closer the mist went away, but he knew that anyone outside of it would be fooled by her illusions. He saw her turn to him and smile, her blue eyes sparkling and electric and it was all fine. He stepped into a patch of sunshine and smiled back.

"Hey."

**Ricky**

Ricky had observed the meeting with great interest, all from a different perspective. He had seen it almost as if from above, as he saw his old group interact in much more polite and controlled ways. They had changed, maybe they didn't all see it perfectly, but they had and he saw it very well. They had changed as people and as a team. Kyle and Katie had been working together the longest, almost never apart. The way they seemed to ask questions building on each other showed this clearly. Valentine had always been the leader, able to make decisions that mattered, now though it had changed him to someone who was too off base with anything besides this war. This war. It was a war now, or at least it would become one. This new plan would definitely provoke Charlie if she wasn't already planning anything.

Jennifer had changed too, although more subtly. She seemed the same, but he knew the pain she was going through about seeing Alicia on the other side. This was shy she wouldn't be going to the mountains with Kyle and Katie. Even Ricky himself had changed. He was so far apart from everyone. He had made it his job to watch everything. To take note of it all, but he was someone else now, someone who watched and advised but never acted. They were so different. Not just in their powers. They were all still kids when this started and were now young adults and their worries were centered on the fate of the world.

This was their war, though. As much as they hated it they still had to fight. It wasn't right what Charlie was doing, and they were the only ones who could do anything. This small California paradise was proof of it. They alone had liberated it and it was theirs to protect. The people here lived free, not ruled over by gods born from ego or vengeance induced takeovers.

Valentine took his seat as the others left and they stared at each other for a long while thinking about whether or not Katie and Kyle were leaving for the last time. A common fear. Jennifer finally spoke up, "So what now?"

Valentine rubbed at his temples and waited before answering. "Katie and Kyle won't be leaving for a few days, so we need to get things ready. Ricky and I will remain to oversee preparations. Jennifer, as we discussed Ali is still in Seattle. She took a team up there a week ago and has not returned. If this goes down the way we want it too, we want everyone here. No one gets left behind."

Jennifer nodded. "Alright. I'll go see Liz and get a small team ready."

"Good." Answered Valentine. "Ali has 2 others with her, and we haven't heard from any of them, so be careful. We don't want this plan to end without you guys here. Kyle and Katie wouldn't go through with this if they knew you'd be out there, so be sure to return in time."

"I will." Jennifer said standing. "I'll see you two when I get back then."

Ricky stood walking Jennifer to the door. Stone faces were set on each face. A stone face was the only thing to mask a broken one for them. As Ricky headed back to the chair in front of Valentine he heard him sigh.

"Is it just me or is this all insane?" Valentine asked.

"It's insane. That or we all are."


End file.
